Rose of Ravenclaw Tower
by aannikaa
Summary: Hogwarts has a way of ensuring that every student is taught the lessons they desperately need, even if those lessons don't happen in the classroom. Ravenclaw Tower has a way of ensuring young girls with famous families and too much hair learn what it truly means to be kind, generous, and extraordinary.
1. Chapter 1

"It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?" -Anne of Green Gables

* * *

Steam and a cacophony of babbling voices surrounded Rose Weasley as she tightened her grip on her father's sleeve. Platform nine and three-quarters bustled around her as she followed her parents towards the large scarlet steam engine with the words Hogwarts Express painted on the sides.

"Are they here?" she whispered, swiveling her head around to try and make out Aunt Ginny's long red hair or Uncle Harry's tall frame amidst the crowd of people gathered on the platform. "Dad, I thought you said they were going to meet us here?"

"They'll get here, Rosie, don't worry," Ron Weasley reassured his daughter, wiggling his sleeve from her grasp and taking her hand, which he squeezed affectionately. "We got here a bit early. Your mum was worried we'd be late."

"We might've been, knowing your driving," Rose's mother Hermione retorted indignantly, turning around to scowl. The small brown-haired boy standing next to her cracked a smile, his eyes roving between his parents.

"My driving was fine," Rose's dad said loftily, jutting his chin out.

His wife rolled her eyes and turned back to their son. Ron glanced down at his daughter and winked at her.

Rose giggled. "I think you're a good driver, Daddy," she said, laughing harder when her dad took a mock bow.

"Thank you, Rosie," he said. "I always knew you were the most sensible one in the family."

"Oh, Ron, there they are!" Rose's mother cried, trotting towards another family who had just emerged from the barrier.

Rose let go of her dad's arm as soon as she saw her cousin Albus walking towards her with his parents and siblings. His face was drawn just as hers must have been a moment ago; he looked as though he was going to be sick. He wore muggle clothing and Rose looked down at her new robes, wondering in embarrassment if she ought to have waited until she was on the train to change.

"Hello," Aunt Ginny chirped, moving around the trolley piled with trunks and an owl cage in order to hug Rose's mum and dad.

"Parked all right then?" Ron asked Uncle Harry. "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."

"I did not!" Rose's mum exclaimed indignantly. "I had complete faith in you."

While the adults chattered on about muggle driving, Albus turned to Rose, his pale face drawn. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly, his eyebrows knitting together.

"I think so," Rose answered, taking his hand. She and Al had been planning for the day they would go to Hogwarts together ever since she could remember. Now that the day had come, it seemed, they were both scared out of their minds.

"James was telling me all these stories on the drive over—" Albus began, a tell-tale crease appearing in his forehead.

"Your dad said not to listen to him," Rose interjected quickly. "Remember, after he told me they keep snakes in the girls bathrooms? Your dad said not to believe anything James says about Hogwarts."

"I don't know—" Albus trailed off as they noticed their families meandering down the platform, over to where Hugo, Rose's brother and Lily, Albus' younger sister, stood, talking animatedly.

"I don't know what house I want to be in!" Hugo cried, his eyes wide as he watched his parents approach. "I didn't know you had to decide!"

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," Rose's dad said, "but no pressure."

"Ron!" her mum hissed, smacking him in the arm.

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Rose's stomach dropped. Glancing at Albus, she knew he felt the same way.

"He doesn't mean it," Rose's mum reassured the two incoming first years, placing a hand on their shoulders and giving them a smile. "Really, wherever you're sorted is okay with us."

Rose nodded and looked towards her dad in hopes of receiving a confirmation of this sentiment, but he was no longer paying attention to her and Albus. His gaze, and now Uncle Harry's, was fixed on a small family standing nearby, obscured slightly by the steam.

"So that's little Scorpius," Rose heard her father mutter under his breath, giving Uncle Harry a pointed look before turning to her. "Make sure you beat him at every test, Rosie. Thank god you inherited your mother's brains."

Rose craned her neck and tried to peer around her dad to catch a better look at the boy she was supposed to beat. The steam had thickened, though, and the family was now too fuzzy to make out properly.

"Ron, for heaven's sake!" Rose heard her mother admonish. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," Ron murmured, catching Rose's eye and giving her a sharp look. "But don't get _too_ friendly with him though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Rose opened her mouth to tell her father she hadn't even gotten a proper look at the boy, so she couldn't possibly be wanting to marry him, when a shout diverted everyone.

"Hey!" James, Albus' older brother, was running towards them, grinning eagerly. James started babbling as soon as he joined the group, but Rose turned and walked a few steps so she was next to her mother.

"Mum?" she whispered, glancing around. Everyone else appeared distracted by James' news.

"Yes, dear?" Hermione Weasley bent down slightly so she was eye level with her daughter.

"Will Dad really disinherit me if I'm not in Gryffindor?" Rose asked, trying to keep the nervous tremble out of her voice.

Her mother's lips quirked up but she didn't laugh as she straightened and pulled Rose into her chest. "No, sweetheart, he won't disinherit you," she said quietly. "He's just joking. You know he has a terrible sense of humor sometimes."

Rose mustered a half-hearted chuckle and tilted her head so she could see her mum's face. Standing all of five foot two, Rose's eyes were level with her mother's chin. "I'm going to miss you," she said.

Hermione smiled, her eyes misty as she hugged Rose again and patted her hair. "I'm going to miss you too, Rosie," she said softly, kissing Rose's wild red curls. "It's so strange to think you're old enough to be going to Hogwarts when just yesterday you were sitting on my lap learning to read."

Rose squeezed her mother tightly for another moment and then let go, feeling significantly lighter. She felt small arms wrap around her waist and turned to find her nine-year-old brother Hugo hugging her, his face pressed awkwardly into her hair. She turned and put her arms around his neck; he was almost taller than her even though she was two years older. His brown hair stuck straight up in the back and tickled her face as he leaned forward.

"Bye, Rosie," Hugo said. "Have fun at Hogwarts."

"Bye, Hugh," Rose murmured. "I'll write you a letter as soon as I get there."

"Will you tell me about the ghosts?" Hugo asked, releasing her and turning his brown eyes towards her excitedly. "Dad told me there's one there who can take his head off!"

"Yes," Rose laughed. "I promise I'll tell you about the ghosts."

"And the forest?" Hugo continued, bobbing excitedly as he began to name off aspects of Hogwarts their parents had mentioned over the years. "And all the animals Hagrid keeps? And the staircases that move? And the annoying paintings?"

"Yes, yes, I'll tell you about all of it," Rose assured him, squeezing his arm. Her father had joined them now and smiled down at her a bit wistfully. When Hugo was satisfied that his sister would fulfill her promise to tell him everything about Hogwarts he stepped back towards his mother and Ron Weasley bent down to give his daughter a hug.

"Bye, Rosie," Ron said quietly. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Daddy," she whispered back.

"Remember not to annoy Peeves," her dad muttered, "and be careful around boys, and don't do anything that will get you expelled. If you need anything, you write your mum and me, or else find Fred and he'll help you."

"Okay," Rose said, squeezing him tighter. She didn't want to let go. She wanted to stay right there on the platform with her mum and dad and brother.

"And remember your mum and I love you," Ron said.

"I love you too."

"Right, and you're going to have a great year."

"Okay."

Her dad let go of her and Rose stepped back, turning to Aunt Ginny, who hugged her and whispered a quick, "good luck!"

Rose then turned to Uncle Harry, her favorite man in the family right after her dad and cousin Fred.

"Goodbye, Rosie Posie," Uncle Harry said, giving her a big hug. He bent down and said right in her ear, "keep an eye on Al for us, love, he might need it."

Rose giggled and nodded her head. She glanced towards Al, who was staring at the train with a look of apprehension. Uncle Harry squeezed her shoulder once more and moved towards his son, bending down and speaking quietly to him.

"Well, dear, you'd better get on," Rose's mother murmured, taking hold of one end of the heavy trunk labeled R.W. and hoisting it into the carriage.

Rose scurried onto the train. Behind her, she could hear Uncle Harry's voice chime out, "it's nearly eleven." A minute later, Albus clambered onto the train behind her. Aunt Ginny heaved the door shut and they moved to a window, leaning out so they could see their families. Rose's mother was crying freely now, fat teardrops rolling down her cheeks. Hugo had coaxed Ron into giving him a piggy back ride and waved enthusiastically from his perch.

Out of the corner of her eye Rose caught a flash of blue and she turned to see Teddy Lupin standing on the platform, stretching up tall and kissing her cousin Victoire, who was leaning over the side of the train.

Rose could feel Albus shifting beside her and she craned her neck in different directions to catch a glimpse of all the students scrambling to board the train. A fair number of eyes had gravitated towards Albus' dad and Rose felt her face heat up as the stares wandered over to her family and eventually to her and Albus.

"Why are they all staring?" Albus muttered beside her, casting dark looks around the platform.

"Don't let it bother you," Rose's dad said, smiling brightly and pretending to pose for an invisible camera. "It's me, I'm extremely famous."

They all laughed and Rose felt another pang of affection for her father as the train began to slowly roll away. She had the urge to jump through the window and beg her parents to take her back home with them, but then she caught sight of Uncle Harry walking along beside them, his eyes trained on her and Albus and a reassuring smile on his face. He stayed beside them until the train picked up enough speed he could no longer keep up and then he waved until they rounded a corner and he was out of sight.

Rose and Albus withdrew from the window and looked at each other expectantly.

"I suppose we should find Lucy, then," Al said, his eyes ferreting around nervously as though expecting their cousin, who was also a first year, to magically appear beside them.

"She said yesterday she would probably be near the front of the train, since Uncle Percy was stationed there to make sure all the broomsticks met regulation," Rose answered, holding up the hem of her school robes and starting along down the corridor. Albus fell into step beside her quickly.

They had gone about halfway down the corridor when they caught sight of Lucy, her red ponytail bouncing behind her as she ran towards them.

"Al! Rosie! I'm so glad I found you, I was beginning to worry," she panted, bending over to catch her breath. "I didn't see either of you get on the train but I saw Uncle Harry out the window."

"We're here," Al said, smiling.

"Shall we find a compartment?" Lucy asked, smoothing down several pieces of hair that had come loose from her ponytail during her sprint down the corridor. "I don't know if there's any more empty ones, but we might be able to find the others. Molly told me all the cousins share a compartment."

After a few minutes of looking it became dreadfully apparent that their chances of finding their cousins were slim, and their hopes of finding an unoccupied compartment even slimmer. Dread settled in Rose's chest as she realized the rest of the family could very well be at the other end of the train for all they knew.

"Here," she said loudly, standing up straighter and marching over to the closest compartment. "We'll just sit in this one. We can't be wandering the train all day."

"But someone's in there," Lucy said, frowning.

Rose shrugged, stirring up a few morsels of confidence as she looked between her two ill-at-ease cousins. "So we'll make new friends," she said, forcing her face into a grin. Without waiting for a response she wrenched open the door and stepped into the compartment.

Two boys, who both looked to be about her age, stared at her. One was scrawny and blond, with big silver eyes and a pointed chin. The other was a bit bigger with brown hair and warm brown eyes. Both wore identical expressions of confusion.

"We can't find an empty compartment," Rose said hurriedly, feeling her face flush as the boys continued to stare at her. Why had this seemed like a good idea again? "So, er—" she trailed off, looking over her shoulder at Al and Lucy, who were both gazing at their shoes and offering no help whatsoever. "Can we sit with you?" she finished lamely, praying the two strangers wouldn't turn them out.

The blond boy continued to stare at her appraisingly, but the brown haired one's face cleared as soon as the question left Rose's mouth. He shook his head slightly and turned towards his friend, eyebrows raised. "I reckon we've got enough room in here for them, aye Scorp?"

The blond boy merely shrugged, turning to look out the window.

"Come on in," the brown haired boy said, smiling at Rose and beckoning her forward.

Rose exhaled and slid into the seat across from the boys, followed quickly by Albus and Lucy.

"I'm Nathan," the brown haired boy said. "Nathan Nott. And this is Scorpius Malfoy," he gestured towards the blond boy next to him.

Rose's eyebrows shot upward as she realized this was the boy her dad and Uncle Harry had been talking about. She eyed Scorpius, who was still staring resolutely out the window. His fine blond hair was combed back off his face, highlighting his high cheekbones and pointed chin. His pale skin rivalled even Albus' and she could see the reflection of his silvery eyes in the window. With mounting irritation, she wondered why he wouldn't turn and look at them, let alone introduce himself instead of making his friend do it.

"You know it's not good manners to not talk to people when you first meet them," she blurted out.

"Rose!" Lucy hissed, scowling across Albus.

Scorpius turned away from the window now and fixed Rose with a frown. "I wasn't trying to be rude," he said quietly.

"Well—" Rose began hotly, but Albus put a hand on her arm and cut her off.

"I'm Albus Potter," he said, holding out a hand to Nathan, and then to Scorpius.

Nathan's eyes bulged and he seemed to choke a bit as he shook Al's hand. "Potter?" he asked in a strained voice. "As in—"

"Yeah," Al muttered, drawing his hand back and running it through his hair in agitation. Rose tried to shake her head discreetly at Nathan. Al hated it when people brought up his family's fame.

"So you're Harry Potter's son?" Nathan pressed on, not seeing Rose's head jerks. "Blimey, I never would've thought—though, now that you mention it, yes I see it. You have those eyes everyone talks about."

Rose could feel Al grind his teeth beside her. "I'm Rose Weasley," she broke in, hoping to take some of the attention off her cousin. It worked. Both boys turned to her.

"Nice to meet you," Nathan said. "I've heard of your family too. Aren't there about twenty of you at Hogwarts now?"

"Nine," Rose replied, grinning. "If you count the Potters in there."

Nathan nodded and turned to face Lucy, who hadn't spoken since reprimanding Rose. "And what's your name?" he asked.

Lucy's face went red. "Lucy Weasley," she mumbled.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lucy," Nathan said.

"Same to you," Lucy answered.

"So are you all first years too?" Rose asked, addressing Nathan. She rather liked this boy, though his friend seemed to be a borderline mute.

"Yeah," Nathan said, throwing an arm around Scorpius. "We've been best friends since we were babies and now we're going to school together."

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Rose asked.

To her surprise, Scorpius answered first. "Probably Slytherin," he said quietly, sliding out from under Nathan's arm and watching Rose cautiously. "My whole family's been in there."

"Oh," Rose faltered, feeling Albus stiffen slightly beside her as she bit back a comment about how her dad said Slytherins were all snakes. "Er, that's—"

"Wonderful," Lucy interrupted, throwing Rose a warning look. "How about you, Nathan?"

"The same," Nathan said, grinning at Scorpius. "My family's all been in there too."

Rose felt her mouth slide into a frown at this. "But you're—"

"And you lot?" Nathan asked, talking over Rose. He turned his brown eyes on her and Rose swallowed her opinion on Slytherin house.

"Gryffindor," she said confidently, "like my mum and dad."

"Me too, probably." Albus chimed in, relaxing slightly. "Though I'm not really sure."

"I'll probably be in Ravenclaw," Lucy said quietly, fiddling with a piece of hair. "That's where my sister is."

"Well, now we know who to go to for homework help," Nathan said.

"No, that's Rosie you want," Albus murmured, elbowing Rose in the rib. "Everyone says she's going to be the smartest one in the family."

Rose felt her face go red with pleasure and she did her best to look humble, but what Albus said was true; the family really did think she was going to be the smartest one.

"How many books did you bring with you?" Al asked, gaining confidence as Rose turned a darker shade of red. "Nine? Ten?"

"Thirteen," she muttered, looking at the table. She didn't want the two boys she had just met to think she was a swot.

"Thirteen?" Albus asked incredulously, his eyebrows disappearing into the messy black fringe covering his forehead. "I don't even know if I've read thirteen books in my life."

"Well that's why nobody thinks _you're_ going to be the smartest one in the family," Rose retorted, smiling when Nathan chuckled at her comment.

"How'd you fit thirteen books in your trunk?" Nathan asked, furrowing his brow. "They have to take up a lot of room."

"My mum shrank them," Rose answered, grinning. "One of my cousins will enlarge them for me tonight."

"That's clever," Nathan said, nodding his head. "What—"

He was interrupted by the sound of the compartment door sliding open. Rose looked up to find James and Fred, her cousins who were both in their third year, standing in the doorway.

"There you lot are!" James cried, taking Lucy's hand and pulling her to her feet. "We've been looking everywhere for you, thought you might've got lost and wandered off the train on accident."

"We couldn't find you," Al said, a bit defensively.

"Well, our compartment's just a bit down the corridor," Fred said, smiling at Rose. "Come on, everyone's dying to see you three."

"It was nice to meet you," Lucy said over her shoulder to Nathan and Scorpius as James shuffled her out of the compartment.

"You too," Nathan called back. Rose gave him one last grin as she slid out of her seat and followed Fred and Albus into the corridor. Fred closed the door and put an arm around Rose's shoulder, pulling her close to his side.

"Rosie, I thought for a while you chickened out and somehow convinced your mum to let you stay home," he chided, ruffling her hair.

"I would never chicken out," Rose said heatedly, pushing aside the memory of her nerves at the station.

"I know you wouldn't," Fred chuckled. "You're big bad Rose Weasley and nothing scares you."

"That's right!" she cried, laughing as Fred squeezed her. He stopped in front of a very crowded compartment and opened the door, revealing all the Weasley cousins crammed inside.

Victoire, who was in her last year of school, and Dominique, a fifth year, sat across from each other by the window. Molly, Lucy's older sister who was a fourth year, sat beside Dom while Roxanne, Fred's sister who was a year older than Rose, sat next to Victoire. James and Lucy, who had just arrived, sat closest to the door. There was a collective roar of hello when Fred pushed Albus and Rose inside and shut the door, taking a seat beside James and pulling Rose beside him. Albus squeezed in next to Lucy, squashed between his cousin and the door.

"We thought you lot jumped off or something," Dom laughed as the three younger cousins squirmed into place.

"We couldn't find you!" Albus cried. "We went up and down the corridor looking and then Rose decided to just walk into a compartment—"

"I didn't just walk in," Rose argued. "You were going to just walk around the corridor all day so I opened a door and introduced—"

"Rosie, I don't think any of us believe you took the time to introduce yourself before barging into a stranger's compartment," Victoire said, laughing as Rose glared.

"It's not a bad thing," James said, winking at her. "You need guts like that for when you get sorted this evening."

Rose, Albus, and Lucy all grew stony at the mention of the sorting. "W-what do you mean we need guts for the sorting?" Albus asked, glancing around nervously. "Do we—do they make you do something?"

"They do," James said solemnly, reaching across the table and putting a hand on Al's shoulder. "They take all the first years down to the lake, and make you strip down to your underwear—"

Albus' eyes grew wide and Rose saw him glance anxiously towards his trousers.

"And then one by one," James continued, his voice dead calm, "they make you jump in the lake and fight the giant squid that lives there."

"No," all three first years breathed. Rose forgot her annoyance and stared unabashedly at James. _Hogwarts: A History_ had mentioned nothing about the sorting ceremony, much to her disappointment. And James seemed so sure of himself when he spoke of it. She knew her cousin told tall tales sometimes but this was something that just couldn't be made up. It just made so much sense. And she knew the giant squid was real; she had heard her mother talk about it occasionally.

"James, stop it, look at them, you're scaring them half to death!" Victoire snapped, reaching across Roxanne to swat at her younger cousin.

"So—so we don't have to fight the giant squid?" Rose whispered, turning around to face Fred, whose dark eyes twinkled merrily though his expression was serious.

"No, Rosie," he smiled, shaking his head. "No, you don't have to fight the giant squid."

"Fred?"

"Yeah, Rose?"

"I'll still be your favorite cousin even if I'm not in Gryffindor, right?"

"Of course, Rosie."

Rose let out a sigh of relief and leaned back so her head rested beside Fred's.

The rest of the train ride passed in a haze of exploding snap and raucous retellings of things that had happened at family gatherings over the years. James got to do his impression of Uncle Harry accidentally hitting himself in the head with a beaters bat and Vic told the story of her Grandmére meeting Teddy Lupin and complaining loudly about "zat blue 'aired boy weef two left feet."

It seemed as though mere minutes had gone by when the announcement came on that they were almost to Hogsmeade Station and students should get ready to disembark. The Weasley compartment was suddenly in a flurry of commotion as the cousins jostled around to retrieve their robes from their luggage. In shifts of two or three they left the compartment to go change, coming back in black robes identical to the ones Rose had been wearing since arriving at the station.

The train slowed to a stop and Rose could see through the door that the corridors had flooded with students, all buzzing eagerly. Fred nudged her gently in the back and Rose stood up, reaching out and clinging to her cousin's hand.

"It's alright, Rosie," Fred said quietly, putting his free hand on her shoulder. She nodded, but didn't release his hand.

She and Fred led the Weasley clan off the train. A few hundred feet away Rose saw Hagrid towering over students, waving an oversized hand and bellowing, "Firs' years! Firs' years over this way!"

Rose turned with wide eyes to look first at Fred, then at Albus and Lucy who stood behind him, also staring at Hagrid. A wave of anxiety crashed over Rose. Nobody had told her they would be separated from their older cousins. She had counted on staying with them all the way to the castle, only leaving when it was time for the dreaded sorting.

Fred released her hand and bent down so their faces were level. "It's alright, Rosie," he repeated. "It's not that bad I promise. And James and I will be cheering louder than anyone for all three of you when you get sorted."

Rose nodded and swallowed heavily, keeping her face neutral so nobody could see the fear coursing through her. Fred squeezed her shoulder and walked in the opposite direction, followed by James and Roxanne, who called good luck to the three first year cousins.

"You're all going to be fine," Molly said soothingly, hugging Lucy and then Al and finally Rose. Dom and Vic repeated the sentiment and gave them hugs as well before following the others.

Left on their own, Rose, Albus and Lucy stared at each other. "I guess we'd best go to Hagrid," Rose said, steeling herself. The other two nodded and they walked tentatively towards the giant.

"Alrigh' you three?" Hagrid called happily, grinning broadly as they approached.

"We're not bad," Rose said, her voice sounding much more confident than she felt. "Why don't we go with everyone else?"

"Firs' years go by boat," Hagrid said, not bothering to explain further. He gestured to an area behind him, where there were in fact several small boats at the edge of what Rose guessed was the infamous lake.

"Do we just pick one?" Lucy asked, eyeing them nervously.

"Any one you like," Hagrid said. "It don' matter, I don' reckon there's much o' a difference. No more'n four to a boat, mind yer."

"Right," Albus muttered, drawing in a deep breath. "I guess we'll go get one then before they fill up."

They meandered down towards the fleet, hearing Hagrid's renewed shouts of "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Albus chose a boat towards the back and they all clambered in, Rose and Lucy in the front two seats and Albus in one of the back ones.

"I think they go on their own," Rose said, peering over the side to see if there was anything indicating how the boats ran.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?" a timid voice rang out. Rose looked up and saw a small, frightened looking boy standing near them.

"Sure," Lucy said, smiling at the boy. He gave her an appreciative glance before climbing in and sitting beside Albus.

"I'm Matthew Corner," he said.

"Albus Potter," Al muttered.

"I'm Rose Weasley," Rose said, smacking Albus on the shoulder to make him be friendlier.

"And I'm Lucy Weasley," Lucy chimed in.

"I thought you might be Weasleys," Matthew Corner told them, his eyes going between Rose and Lucy. "You have the hair."

"Right," Rose grumbled, raising a hand to her hair. It was wild and curly and the trademark Weasley red. Some days she liked it, but most days she wished she had gotten her brother's brown hair. Though it was rather nice that she and most of her cousins had the same hair color. Hers and Lucy's was almost identical, although Lucy's hair fell in straight sheets down her back.

"Are you excited to finally be going to Hogwarts?" Matthew Corner asked, leaning back. He immediately leapt forward with a yelp, along with half the first years around them, as the boats began to move of their own accord into the lake.

"Everyone be careful, now!" Hagrid's voice rang out. "Don' lean out of the boats or nothin' like tha' if yer don' wanna fall in!"

"Have people fallen in before?" Lucy whispered nervously, her brown eyes wide.

"I don't think so," Albus answered grimly. "I'm sure James would have said something if they had."

They sat in awed silence as they moved through the foggy evening air. Before their eyes, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry slowly came into view. It was magnificent. Rose reached down and pinched her leg to be sure she wasn't dreaming. Based on a little squeak beside her, she knew Lucy had done the same.

"It's beautiful," Rose whispered, craning her neck to get a better look. The castle was enormous, situated on rolling grounds, with high towers and impressive turrets. Rose felt her jaw drop a bit as her eyes swept over the place. She had known in theory what the castle looked like; she had read _Hogwarts: A History_ over the summer and could recite facts about how many towers there were, how many bathrooms were on each floor, and how deep below the lake the Slytherin dormitories were located. But nothing had prepared her for the sheer grandeur of the place.

Rose was so busy staring at the castle she hadn't noticed the boats were nearing the edge of the lake. When they hit the bank and Matthew Corner climbed out, Rose started and looked around in amazement.

"We're here," she said dumbly, taking the hand Albus held out to her and stepping onto the ground.

"We're here," he repeated, not letting go of her hand as he turned to look at the castle. Cold fingers slid through those on Rose's free hand and she turned to see Lucy standing beside her.

"Everyone go to the fron' doors!" Hagrid called. "Professor McGonagall will meet yer there and then you'll follow her ter get sorted!"

Hand in hand with her two cousins, Rose began walking towards the large, oak doors that she knew would lead them into the Entrance Hall. She heard a sharp intake of breath from Al and a moment later he turned to face her, his green eyes wide with horror.

"Rose, Luce," he hissed, slowing down. His grip on Rose's hand tightened almost painfully and she saw his free hand run through his hair. "What if we're all three in different houses?"

Rose's stomach churned at the thought. She was a little ashamed to admit she hadn't considered the possibility; she had assumed at least one of her cousins would be in the same house as her.

"That won't happen," Lucy whispered, sounding frightened but sure. "Think about it, Al. Families are usually sorted into the same houses. And we have people in Ravenclaw _and_ Gryffindor. We'll be fine."

"It won't happen," Rose added, forcing a smile onto her face.

Al's grip on her hand relaxed slightly, but he still looked uncertain. The three followed the crowd of timid first years to the front doors, where Professor McGonagall stood. Remembering her mother's strict instructions not to call the headmistress Aunt Minnie under any circumstances, Rose tried to keep a straight face as the stern witch's eyes swept over the congregating first years. She met Rose's eyes and winked almost imperceptibly before looking out towards the lake.

"Is that everyone, Hagrid?" she called.

"Yes, Professor," Hagrid answered, ambling up to the back of the group. "That's all o' 'em."

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said crisply, turning back to the first years. "Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall and I am the headmistress. In a few minutes the front doors will open and you will all follow me into the entrance hall, where you will form a line in alphabetical order by your surnames and we will proceed to the sorting ceremony. For those of you who don't know, the sorting ceremony is when it will be determined which house you will belong to while you are at school. The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each has a unique set of values and characteristics. While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be your family. Now, if you will follow me."

All of a sudden, the front doors swung open, revealing a magnificent entrance hall. Rose squeezed Albus and Lucy's hands as she tried to get a good look around Professor McGonagall.

The first years filed in behind the headmistress, all heads swiveling around to take in the splendor. To her left, Rose caught sight of Nathan Nott looking straight up at the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

"If you would please form a line in alphabetical order by your surnames," Professor McGonagall said crisply, standing by another set of wooden doors which Rose guessed led into the Great Hall. "Those beginning with the letter A will be by me."

There was a mad scramble as students tried to find their place. Albus let go of Rose's hand, shooting her a nervous glance before wandering off to find the Ps. Rose watched him jostle around a few students before she felt a tug on her arm and looked to see Lucy pulling her towards the back of the hall.

"We're probably last," Rose said, rolling her eyes. They walked past Scorpius, who was staring at the floor looking as though he had swallowed a slug, and Nathan, standing two people down, who gave them a smile.

Rose was right: she and Lucy were last. They took their spots at the end of the line, Lucy in front of Rose, and waited. After a few minutes everyone seemed to have found their place and the Entrance Hall grew quiet. Rose stood on her toes and craned her neck to try and catch a glimpse of Albus' messy black hair, but there were too many people between them and she wasn't tall enough to see over everyone. She heard a collective gasp and looked up to see the wooden doors open, offering a view of the Great Hall.

"Look at it," Lucy breathed, peering around the boy in front of her. Rose murmured in appreciation, standing on her toes again to try and see the enchanted ceiling she had read about.

The line of first years moved forward and Rose found, to her horror, that they were walking into the Great Hall.

"We have to do the sorting in front of everyone?" she hissed to Lucy, whose eyes grew wide.

The line stopped moving just after Rose passed through the doors. From her position, she could see Professor McGonagall pick up something that looked like a grey rag and put it in front of her. And, to her confusion, the rag seemed to sing, though Rose was too busy trying to see what it was exactly to pay attention to the words.

When the song ended McGonagall picked up a scroll of parchment and cleared her throat. "When I call your name," she said to the first years, who had all begun to fidget nervously, "please come forward. Amal, Johanna."

A small girl with dark skin and braided black hair moved forward. Rose saw McGonagall pick up the grey thing and, after the girl had sat down, drop it on Johanna's head.

"It's a hat!" Lucy whispered, turning to look at Rose. The two cousins watched with bated breath, wondering whether the hat would burst into flames, or else disintegrate. To their surprise, the wide rip near the brim opened of its own accord and the hat shouted out, "Hufflepuff!"

One of the tables in the middle burst into cheers and McGonagall removed the hat from Johanna Amal's head as the little girl scuttled towards the Hufflepuffs, who moved over to make room for her.

"We just have to try the hat on," Rose said, stunned and more than a little disappointed. "That's all we have to do."

"It was rotten of them to worry us like that," Lucy pouted. "And James telling us we had to fight the giant squid!"

"Oh, you know they just meant it as a joke," Rose said, tugging Lucy's ponytail playfully. "I reckon we'll do the same thing to the younger ones."

Lucy shrugged noncommittally and the girls turned their attention back to the sorting as "Boot, Allison" became a Ravenclaw.

The sorting wore on and gradually, the line of people in front of Rose dwindled. The sorting, Rose discovered, was a bit dull. It felt as though she had been standing for hours and only half the first years had tried on the hat.

McGonagall cleared her throat and shifted the parchment in her hands slightly before calling out, "Malfoy, Scorpius!"

The blond boy who had been in the compartment walked forward, his pale face a bit green. He sat down on the three-legged stool and McGonagall dropped the hat on his head.

There was a long pause, longer than any other so far. Finally, the rip opened and the sorting hat called out, "Ravenclaw!"

The Great Hall was silent. After a moment the table at the end broke into applause, but it was subdued than all the others. Surprise flashed across Scorpius' face for a moment, but was quickly replaced by a small smile as Professor McGonagall took the hat off his head and he trotted to the Ravenclaw table, half the eyes in the hall following him.

McGonagall ignored the odd reaction and continued calling names. After a few minutes Rose heard "Nott, Nathan!" and looked up eagerly. Nathan walked to the stool and the hat was dropped on his head. Rose's eyes flickered towards the Ravenclaw table and she saw Scorpius Malfoy staring intently at his friend, his silvery eyes wide and hopeful.

"Slytherin!" the hat bellowed. The table next to the Gryffindors exploded into cheers; evidently, Nathan's sorting was not as shocking as his friend's. Professor McGonagall took the hat and Rose watched Nathan take a seat at the Slytherin table. Across the hall, she saw Scorpius' face fall as he turned back and stared down at his plate.

"Potter, Albus!" McGonagall cried.

The chatter of the hall ceased. There was no mistaking it; every single pair of eyes was trained on Albus Potter as he fumbled awkwardly to the small stool and sat down. Rose saw his face grow bright red and his eyes close as Professor McGonagall dropped the sorting hat on his head.

A full minute went by. Then another. Rose felt as though a knife had been driven through her chest and realized she had been holding her breath. She exhaled and watched. Albus' eyes were still closed. At the Gryffindor table, she could see Fred and James exchanging worried looks.

Finally, the rip widened; Rose saw Albus open his eyes, an odd expression on his face.

"Slytherin!" the hat called.

The hall remained silent. Not a sound came from any of the four tables as Harry Potter's son stood up slowly and walked towards the Slytherin table. Ten feet away, James and Fred stared, open mouthed. Then, as though somebody had flipped a switch, roaring applause broke out and several people stood up, cheering Albus on as he approached his new house-mates. Rose watched as Nathan smiled at Albus and moved over so he could sit with him.

Professor McGonagall continued the sorting but Rose wasn't listening. She watched Albus' face return to its normal color and his expression fall back into a smile as he and Nathan talked. Her stomach dropped as a horrifying thought occurred to her: what if _she_ was in Slytherin? Frantically, Rose looked away from Albus and over to the Gryffindor table. She caught Fred's eye and he winked, giving her a thumbs up. Rose offered a weak smile, praying she didn't look as ill as she felt.

"Weasley, Lucy!"

Rose started as she realized Lucy had been called, meaning she was next. She watched as Lucy scuttled forward and the hat was placed on her head. A moment later it called out, "Ravenclaw!"

Lucy's face flooded with relief and she handed the hat back to McGonagall before skipping down to the Ravenclaw table, where Victoire, Dom, and Molly were all standing and cheering.

Rose watched Lucy take a seat between Scorpius Malfoy and Molly. Neither of her cousins were in Gryffindor. Al's worry might come true; they might all end up in different houses. At least she had her older cousins—

"Weasley, Rose!"

Oh no. Her legs carried her forward, but Rose's mind froze. She saw Aunt Min—Professor McGonagall standing in front of her, offering a small, reassuring smile. Rose felt herself drop to sit on the rickety stool and she was vaguely aware of something being placed on her head.

 _"Hmm,"_ a small voice said in her ear. _"Another Weasley. What to do with you? You have plenty of courage, I can see that clearly. And loyalty. I see great nobility and honor. Oh, but what brains, what a thirst for knowledge. There's only one place for that, and it's—"_

"Ravenclaw!" the hat bellowed for the whole hall to hear. Somebody plucked the fabric off her head and Rose stood on wobbly legs and made her way to the Ravenclaw table, grinning when she saw her cousins standing and cheering. She looked over her shoulder and saw James, Roxanne, and Fred whooping from the Gryffindor table. Fred winked again and grinned broadly.

Lucy scooted over so Rose could sit between her and Molly at the table. When she sat down, her cousins all converged on her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're with me!" Lucy said, hugging Rose tightly. "I was so worried after Al—"

"You're going to love it, Rosie," Molly said, grinning as she put her arm around Rose's shoulders. "I know your mum and dad were Gryffindors, but really, Ravenclaw is a lot of fun too—"

"And now there's five Weasley women all in Ravenclaw together!" Dom cried, leaning across the table to ruffle Rose and Lucy's hair.

"Ahem," Professor McGonagall's voice carried through the Great Hall and Rose looked up to see the headmistress had taken her place at the staff table. She had not sat down yet, but stood up straight, her eyes wandering over the sea of students as the chatter ebbed away.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," McGonagall said in her usual clipped tone. "As usual, we do have a few announcements. There have been fourteen additions to Mr. Filch's list of banned items, and he asks that everyone stop by his office to review them. Furthermore I would like to take the chance to warn all new students, and remind a few of the older ones," her gaze swept sternly over James and Fred, who sniggered, "that the Forbidden Forest is in fact _forbidden_ to all students. In light of that, remember that any students caught marauding out of bounds _will be punished_." James and Fred's shoulders were shaking now as they fought to smother their laughter. Rose smiled as she saw McGonagall's mouth twitch before she continued. "Now, if you would all be so kind as to bear those rules in mind, then I have nothing else to say, other than welcome back and let us eat."

The headmistress sat down and Rose leaned over to whisper something to Lucy. She gasped when she caught sight of the table in front of her. Though a moment ago it had been bare, it now was overtaken with hundreds and hundreds of dishes laden with mountains of food.

"Alright, Rosie?" Molly asked cheerfully, unceremoniously dropping a spoonful of mashed potatoes on Rose's plate and pushing it towards her.

"There's so much," Rose said, still staring at the amount of food in front of her. "How are you supposed to try everything?"

"You don't," Dom said, spearing a piece of shepherd's pie. "Just pick the things you like the best and dig in."

Rose grinned and began pulling various dishes towards her, piling her plate high. To her left, Lucy did the same. Rose looked down along the table and her eyes fell on Scorpius Malfoy, who was nibbling on a piece of shepherd's pie and sending wistful glances towards the Slytherin table.

"He looks lonely," Lucy whispered, having turned to see what Rose was looking at.

"No he doesn't, he's eating," Rose shrugged, shoving a forkful of potatoes in her mouth.

Lucy wrinkled her nose and daintily bit off a piece of chicken. When she swallowed she looked over her shoulder towards the Slytherin table. Rose followed suit and noticed Albus and Nathan Nott deep in discussion.

Lucy's eyes flickered back to Scorpius, who was now staring at his plate. "I think he wishes he was in the same house as his friend," she whispered.

"Well, now he'll make new friends," Rose said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow and turned away from Rose, tapping Scorpius on the shoulder. He turned and gave her an odd look, as though unsure if she had really meant to touch him.

"Hi," Lucy said, smiling. "I'm Lucy, we met on the train."

Scorpius gazed warily at her and gave a small nod. "I remember," he said quietly.

"Are you excited to be in Ravenclaw?" Lucy asked, cutting another piece of chicken. "My sister says it's a lot of fun."

"I suppose," Scorpius shrugged, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I don't really know anyone here."

"Well now you know me," Lucy chirped. She turned and caught Rose's arm, dragging her around to face Scorpius. "And you know my cousin Rose."

"He'o" Rose forced out through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Scorpius' lip curled slightly as he nodded towards her. Lucy gave her cousin an exasperated look. "Rose, just because Aunt Hermione and Grandma aren't here doesn't mean you can talk with your mouth full."

Swallowing quickly and feeling her eyes water, Rose scowled and took a drink from her glass. "My mouth wasn't _full_ ," she said. "And you surprised me—"

"It was still gross," Lucy muttered, picking up her knife and sawing off a centimeter of chicken. "And in front of a stranger, too."

"He's not a stranger," Rose replied sullenly, reaching down the table for more mashed potatoes. "We've already met."

Lucy ignored this and continued chatting with Scorpius, only managing to draw short, curt answers from him.

"So, er, Scorpius," Lucy said slowly. "Has any one else in your family ever been in Ravenclaw?"

"No," Scorpius muttered. "They were all in Slytherin."

"Oh, yes," Lucy answered hurriedly. "I remember you said that on the train."

"Wait," Rose broke in unceremoniously, her fork halfway to her mouth. She narrowed her eyes and stared appraisingly at Scorpius for a moment. "If the rest of your family are all Slytherins, then why are you in Ravenclaw?"

"Rose!" Lucy hissed, smacking her arm. "You can't ask that!"

Scorpius didn't answer for a moment, but trained his cold, grey stare on Rose, his light eyebrows furrowing as he frowned.

Rose held his gaze, refusing to be the one to break the stare.

Scorpius looked away first, sitting up a bit straighter and turning back to his food. "Just because the rest of my family was in Slytherin doesn't mean I have to be," he muttered, glaring at his carrots.

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but Lucy pinched her elbow and Rose fell silent. Scorpius didn't look up from his plate and she noticed a red flush creep up the back of his neck as he pushed the food around.

"Are you girls excited to see the common room?" Dom asked, snapping Rose and Lucy's attention back to the other side of the table.

"Ooh, yes!" both girls cried, forgetting their irritation and grinning at each other.

"I reckon it's nearly time to go up. Dessert should be out any second," Victoire said, glancing at the silver watch she wore around her wrist.

As if on cue, the dishes on the table disappeared and were replaced with desserts. Rose's eyes bulged at the display of biscuits and cakes and tarts in front of her. She snatched a piece of treacle tart and began munching as Dom and Molly launched into a detailed description of the Ravenclaw common room and dormitories.

"Hi, girls!" a voice rang out behind Rose. She turned and found her cousin Roxanne, grinning down at her and Lucy before sweeping them into a hug. "Oh, I'm so glad my ickle cousins are at Hogwarts with me now!"

"You're only a year older than us," Rose grumbled, wiggling out of Roxanne's grip.

"But you're firsties," Roxanne said authoritatively. "So I still know a lot more about Hogwarts than you."

Unable to come up with a retort for this, Rose scowled and returned to her tart.

"Roxie, leave them alone," Victoire chided. "They've had a long day already."

"I wish one of you was in Gryffindor," Roxanne said sadly, tucking a piece of her thick black hair behind her ear. "I wanted to be able to show you around the common room."

"We'll come visit one day," Rose said, beaming as Roxanne's face lit up.

"Oh good. I still wish one of you had been sorted there so I wouldn't be stuck with the boys." She sent a glare towards Fred and James, who were making snowballs out of ice cream and sending them flying towards unsuspecting students. "But," Roxanne sighed, "I guess it's alright."

"You'll still see us," Lucy said, taking a sip of water.

"We'll eat breakfast with you every day," Rose added, nodding emphatically.

"Sounds perfect," Roxanne smiled, hugging each of them again before walking further down the table. She stopped at two boys who were her age, both with dirty blond hair and big, pale blue eyes. Rose recognized them as Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, Aunt Luna's twins. Roxanne hugged both the boys as she had hugged her cousins and sat down between them.

"Rose, look," Lucy whispered, nudging her in the side. Rose looked up and saw Professor McGonagall rise from her seat at the staff table.

"Attention," the headmistress called. The babble of the Great Hall ceased as everyone turned to look at McGonagall.

"It is time for you all to return to your dormitories. Prefects, please be sure to guide our new students to their common rooms. Have a good night."

The hall filled at once with the roar of chatter as students began filing out of the Great Hall. Prefects wandered around, raising their hands and shouting "first years! First years over here!"

Rose felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to see Lucy gripping her arm, her eyes wide as she took in the chaos.

"Alright, you two, follow us," Dom said sternly, shepherding Lucy and Rose out of the hall while Vic, who was a prefect, corralled the other first years.

"Where do we go?" Rose asked, watching as groups of students seemed to take off in all directions, some climbing the staircases, others going back in the direction of the entrance hall, and still others going down towards the dungeons. She saw Albus nervously following a Slytherin prefect down a flight of marble stairs.

"Ravenclaw Tower is on the seventh floor," Molly said soothingly from behind them. "Once you know where it is you can't miss it."

"Right," Rose breathed. She had read about the common rooms, she remembered now. Ravenclaw's was located in the tower on the west side of the castle, overlooking the lake and quidditch pitch.

Dom and Molly led the girls up several flights of stairs, warning them about the trick steps. On the fifth floor Vic and the other prefects caught up to them, followed by a group of nervous first years who looked just as lost as Rose felt. She searched through the group, taking note of who looked friendly. When her eyes swept over him, Scorpius Malfoy kept his gaze plastered to the ground in front of him. The large group climbed the remaining two staircases together until they stood in front of a large door without a doorknob, only a bronze, eagle shaped knocker.

"You have to answer a riddle in order to get in," Victoire informed the group. Lucy's grasp on Rose's arm tightened and the two girls looked at each other with wide eyes.

"But—what if you can't get it?" Lucy asked quietly, her eyes shifting from Vic to Molly.

"Then you wait for someone who can," Molly said with a sympathetic smile, putting a hand on Lucy's back. "That way you learn something."

"But—but what if nobody can guess it?" Lucy murmured, obvious panic rising in her eyes.

"That's never happened before," Molly replied firmly, looking up so she addressed all the first years and not just her sister. "It's usually not too difficult to get the answer. Sometimes you just have to think about the question in a few different ways. And if that doesn't work, you can always ask someone."

Lucy nodded, though she still looked uneasy. Rose freed her arm from her cousin's grasp and interlaced their fingers, squeezing Lucy's hand reassuringly.

Vic stepped forward so she stood directly in front of the door, her hand poised near the knocker. Suddenly, the bronze eagle's beak opened and it said in a high voice, "What appears once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?"

"The letter M," Victoire answered. The door swung open and the older students ushered the first years into the common room.

Rose's head swiveled around in awe. The Ravenclaw common room was a large, circular room, decorated with midnight blue carpet and bronze and blue hangings which draped over the high, arched windows, through which Rose could see the lake, an expanse of the Hogwarts grounds, and a bit of the quidditch pitch in the distance. There was a large fireplace surrounded by several squashy couches and armchairs, and small tables were scattered around the room.

"Boys dormitories are up the staircase on the left," one of the prefects, a tall boy Rose didn't know, said. "And girls are up the staircase on the right. Your trunks are already there and you should find everything in order. Breakfast begins at eight o'clock tomorrow, so mind you aren't late. If you need any help, the prefects will all be down here."

"Come on, girls, let's get you to your dorm," Molly said, nudging Rose and Lucy in the back. They walked to the spiral staircase that the prefect had pointed out. Following Molly and Dom, Rose climbed the stairs until she reached the landing at the top. "This must be yours," Dom said, pushing the door open. "Oh, yes, Rose that's your trunk I can see your initials on it from here."

The dormitory was circular like the common room, though only about a quarter of the size. Like the common room, it was decorated with dark blue carpet and had large, arched windows through which Rose could see a full moon peeking out behind the clouds. Her trunk sat next to one of the beds and she promptly threw herself on the mattress, a sweet lavender smell filling her nose as she buried her face in the blue blanket.

Lucy flopped down on the bed next to her and sighed heavily. "It's so comfortable," she murmured.

Dom and Molly laughed, shaking their heads at their cousins' dramatics. "Yeah, the blankets are especially nice in the winter," Dom said, sitting on the corner of Rose's mattress. "And at night you can hear the wind whistling through the windows and it's very relaxing, makes going to sleep much easier."

"You're going to love it," Molly agreed. She looked at Dom pointedly and jerked her head towards the door. Dom raised her eyebrows but then stood up rather quickly.

"Well, we're off to our dormitories now," she said, moving to kiss Rose and then Lucy on the head. "Vic's down in the common room if you need anything and we'll meet you two for breakfast at eight, alright?"

"Okay," Rose agreed, not looking up.

"Have a good night, girls," Molly said, kissing them both as Dom had. "We'll see you in the morning."

Rose sat up and smiled at her cousins as they exited the room. She noticed two other girls who had entered the dormitory while she had been talking to her cousins. Both girls were obviously first years, based on their expressions of wonder and nervousness as they sat on their respective beds and gazed around the dormitory.

One girl had bouncing blonde curls that fell past her shoulders and round face, with dark eyes and pink lips. She looked like a doll, Rose thought. The other had chocolate colored skin and thick, unruly black hair that reminded Rose of Roxanne's.

"I'm Rose," she said suddenly without preamble, addressing the two unknown girls. "Rose Weasley."

"Hi Rose," the blonde chirped, flashing a smile. If she found the abruptness of the introduction odd, she didn't show it. "I'm Allie Boot."

"I'm Maren Thomas," the dark haired girl said, leaning back against her pillows and grinning.

"Nice to meet you," Rose said. "And this is Lucy." She gestured towards her cousin, who had remained face down on her bed but sat up hurriedly at the mention of her name.

"What? Oh, hello, I'm so sorry, how rude of me! I'm Lucy Weasley, Rose's cousin," Lucy said, smoothing her hair down frantically.

Allie and Maren laughed.

"Don't worry about it," Maren said, stretching her arms out above her head. "I reckon we'll all get to know each other soon enough."

Lucy and Rose nodded, watching their two roommates. An awkward silence fell over the four girls as they all rooted around silently for a topic of conversation.

"So, er, have you lot looked through the books we need for classes yet?" Allie asked nervously.

Rose shot up off her bed, smacking a hand to her forehead. "Merlin, I almost forgot about my books!" she cried, running towards the door and ignoring the startled expressions on Allie and Maren's faces. "I need to get Vic!"

She threw the door open and hurried down the steps. As she went she vaguely heard Lucy's voice murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like, "you'll get used to her."

Rose burst into the common room and looked around. Vic sat in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, scribbling something on a piece of parchment. Her strawberry blonde hair glowed from the light given off from the flames and she looked almost translucent in the moonlight.

"Vic?" Rose asked, slowing down as she approached her cousin. Now that the immediate urgency had worn off, she was struck once again by how large the common room was, and how old her cousin looked sitting by the fire scratching away on her roll of parchment.

"Yeah, Rosie?" Victoire asked, looking up in surprise. "Do you need something?"

Rose stepped closer and peered over her cousin's shoulder at the parchment. "Who are you writing to?" she asked.

"Your parents," Vic grinned, hiking up the parchment and scribbling another line. "Your mum, Aunt Audrey and Aunt Ginny all made me promise to write as soon as the feast was over, since none of you have your own owl and they didn't trust the others to remember."

"Are you telling them I'm in Ravenclaw?" Rose asked, frowning as she remembered her father's joke on the platform that morning.

"Of course," Vic replied, glancing sideways at her younger cousin. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," Rose said, still looking at the letter and shrugging. "You don't—you don't think they'll mind, do you?"

"Now why would they mind?" Vic asked, her eyebrows knitting together. She looked at Rose sternly for a moment before pushing the parchment aside and moving over so Rose could squeeze into the armchair with her. "They're not going to be angry with you for not being in Gryffindor," Vic said quietly, putting an arm around Rose's shoulder.

"Mum said it doesn't matter," Rose muttered, leaning her head on her cousin's shoulder. "But they wanted—"

"Rosie, your parents want you to make friends and do well in classes and not get expelled," Vic said, squeezing her arm. "And I'll bet they're going to be thrilled you're in Ravenclaw."

"Are you sure?" Rose whispered, looking up so Victoire could see the very real fear in the lines of her face. "What if they're not?"

"They will be," Vic said firmly, hugging Rose tightly. "You're silly for thinking anything different."

Rose leaned back in the chair without responding. She listened to the fire crackle in front of her and watched the silvery moon escape from behind a cloud.

"Did you need me for something or did you just get scared?" Vic asked quietly, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh!" Rose started. She had, in fact, come down to ask for her cousin's help. "Can you enlarge my books for me?" she asked.

Vic chuckled and moved to get out of the chair. "Yes, I can enlarge your books for you." She rolled up the unfinished letter and closed her ink pot before following Rose up to the dormitory.

Allie and Maren had already gotten into bed, and were now whispering to each other excitedly. Lucy sat on top of her covers still, examining the first page of their transfiguration textbook.

Rose bent down and undid her trunk, taking out the thirteen tiny books her mother had packed away in a corner. She smiled as she set them on her bed, each one like an old friend. She had brought all her _Chronicles of Narnia_ books and _Charlotte's Web_ , along with other childhood favorites that her mother had read to her growing up.

"Are these all of them?" Vic asked, smirking at the tiny pile of novels on Rose's bed.

"Yes," Rose answered, blushing slightly. She hoped it wasn't too strange to bring a pile of muggle novels to Hogwarts. Her father had tried to convince her to only bring one or two. But Rose couldn't stand the thought of not having her favorite books with her at school. And in the end her mother had been on her side, coming up with the idea of shrinking the books so they would fit in her trunk.

Vic waved her wand over the pile and muttered an incantation and in an instant Rose's books sat on the bed in their original sizes.

"Oh, thank you!" she cried, seizing the volumes and stacking them carefully beside her trunk.

"Do you want to read one together?" Vic asked, sitting on the corner of the bed. "It might make it feel more like home, and I remember the first night can be a bit overwhelming."

Rose grinned and grabbed _the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ , her very favorite book, from the pile and flopped onto her bed next to Vic.

"Luce, are you reading with us?" she called to her cousin.

Lucy glanced over and, when she saw Vic holding the book, sat up and bounded over to Rose's bed. The three Weasley girls snuggled back against the pillows, Rose's head on Vic's shoulder, and Lucy's legs curled against Rose's side.

Victoire cleared her throat and opened the book to the first page, reading in her clear, calm voice, "Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them—"

Rose relaxed as she listened to her cousin read the first chapter. When Vic finished, Lucy was bleary eyed and Rose wore a small, content smile.

Vic stood up and replaced the book on the pile next to Rose's trunk before leaning over and kissing each girl on the forehead. "You two get some sleep now," she murmured. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"Goodnight, Vic," Rose called.

"Goodnight, Rosie," Vic said as she quietly opened the door and left the room.

Minutes later Rose lay on her side, burrowed in her thick, lavender-scented blankets. A few feet away, she could hear Lucy's soft whistling as she slept. Or maybe that was the wind Dom had mentioned earlier. Rose didn't know. Either way, it was a very peaceful sound. She listened to the whistling, whether it was her cousin or the wind, and drifted off to sleep with the dark blue sheets wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and a small, content smile on her face.

* * *

Edited 12/01/2016

Hello, dear reader, and welcome to Rose of Ravenclaw Tower! Thank you for reading the first chapter of Rose's journey; I hope you liked it. Throughout this story my hope is that you and I together will get to see her and the rest of the gang grow and mature through the years.

Feedback of any kind is always appreciated and I hope to hear from you, but if you prefer to just read the story and get on with your day, I understand. I just want you to interact with the story in whichever way is most comfortable and rewarding for you.

If you'd like to contact me outside of FFN, you can find me on tumblr at lilyprongspotter. Feel free to send me any comments/questions/concerns. I would love to hear from you!

And now on with the story.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm so thankful for friendship. It beautifies life so much." -Anne of Avonlea

* * *

Rose and Lucy trooped down to the Great Hall the next morning behind Victoire, Dom and Molly. Lucy's hands fluttered over her hair, flattening stray pieces and nervously pulling at her ponytail as she chattered ceaselessly about classes and professors and whether or not she should have asked her dad to buy her the deluxe edition of _A History of Magic_.

"And is it true that Professor Lyncroft gives you detention if you answer a question wrong?" she breathed, her eyes wide. She pulled at a stray hair and tried to tuck it back into her ponytail. "James told me she does."

"Don't listen to anything James tells you," Molly said firmly, catching Lucy's wrist and lowering it gently. "Just relax, Luce. No one's going to ask you to do too much on the first day."

"And if you can't do something, nobody minds," Victoire added reassuringly. "You won't get in trouble if you don't know something. Most people don't know anything really on their first day."

Lucy nodded and fell silent, her hand flying up again to smooth her hair. Rose gave her cousin a sympathetic smile and patted her own hair, which Molly had twisted into a tight plait that morning.

The Great Hall buzzed with students. All four house tables were nearly full and the five Weasley girls had to search for a few minutes in order to find seats together.

Rose found herself squashed between Lucy and a dark haired she didn't recognize. She wiggled in her seat so she wasn't pressed quite so close to the stranger and reached out for a plate of toast.

"You'll both probably have letters," Victoire said to Rose and Lucy, looking over her glass of pumpkin juice. "And just be ready—it's always a bit of a shock the first time you see the mail delivered."

"What do you mean it's a shock?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow and smothering a piece of toast with jam.

"Just wait," Dominique said, looking up and grinning. "You'll see."

Rose shrugged and took a large bite of toast. At the same moment, the ceiling seemed to fall in and she promptly spat out her toast with a startled cry as, suddenly, hundreds of owls swooped through the hall, circling the tables and dropping letters and packages in front of their recipients.

"Bloody hell," she murmured, staring in awe at the mass of owls overhead.

"We told you," Dom laughed, reaching across Lucy to pat Rose on the shoulder. "And mind you watch your language, I don't want your mum and dad thinking we taught you how to curse."

Rose flushed, but was spared the need to answer when Metis, her family's owl, landed in front of her with a letter tied to her leg.

Rose hurriedly untied the letter and opened it, recognizing her mother's neat handwriting at the top of the page.

 _Rosie,_

 _Congratulations on being sorted into Ravenclaw! Your father and I are so proud. Have a good first day of classes and remember, it's perfectly acceptable to speak up and answer any questions the professors ask, don't worry about what other kids think. Make sure you pay attention and take good notes and don't let your father tell you that you don't need to work to get good grades._

 _We're so excited to hear from you, try to write soon, sweetheart. We want to hear about your teachers and classes and the other kids in your house. Have you made any new friends? Is there anybody else in Ravenclaw we know? How is Lucy?_

 _That's all for now, I think Dad wants to add something too._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Mum_

Rose beamed and her eyes dropped down to the second half of the page, which was covered in her father's untidy scrawl.

 _ **Rosie Posie,**_

 _ **I can't believe you're a Ravenclaw! I thought for sure you would be a Gryffindor like your mum and me, but now I can tell everyone about my brilliant daughter who's in Ravenclaw and going to change the wizarding world one day.**_

 _ **Don't let Mum wind you up too much about classes, you're going to do great. She'll try to tell you that you still need to take all sorts of notes and always pay attention, but you can miss a few things and still be fine. And no matter what she says, you don't have to stay awake in History of Magic to do well. But don't tell her I told you that.**_

 _ **We miss you. Hugo isn't as fun to play chess against, but he's getting better. Mum's still terrible at it, I think I'm going to give up trying to teach her. Maybe you can try over Christmas.**_

 _ **Don't be a show-off in class, even if you do know all the answers. Try not to get too lost in the castle. If any boys are mean to you, get Fred or James to hex them for you, I don't want you getting a detention your first week of school.**_

 _ **Write soon, Hugo wants to hear from you.**_

 _ **Love, Dad**_

Rose laughed and reread the letter, giggling at her mum's sensible advice and her dad's silly comments. Merlin, she missed them both. But, she thought as she folded the letter and slipped it into the pocket of her robes, the excitement of finally starting classes made up for it.

A tiny wizard hobbled over to the Weasley girls, a stack of parchment in his hand and his wand out.

"Good morning, girls," he greeted them in a high voice. "Time to get your schedules in order. Let's see, Victoire—" he tapped his wand to a sheet of parchment and Rose watched in astonishment as writing appeared out of nowhere, outlining her cousin's class schedule.

"Here you are," the tiny man said, stretching out across the table to give the schedule to Victoire. "And now Dominique."

The wizard repeated the process with Dominique and Molly, tapping his wand to the parchment and handing it over to the girls. Finally, he turned to Rose and Lucy.

"Ah, two new Weasley girls!" he squeaked. "I'm Professor Flitwick, the charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw house."

The girls murmured greetings, watching eagerly as Professor Flitwick tapped two pieces of parchment with his wand and handed them over.

"It looks like I'll see you this afternoon," he said merrily before turning to the boy next to Rose and introducing himself.

"What've we got today?" Lucy asked quietly, scanning her schedule.

"Transfiguration first," Rose said, looking over the day's classes. "Mum said that one can be a bit tricky. Then history of magic and charms. And after lunch we have potions, herbology, and defense against the dark arts."

"Oh dear," Lucy breathed, looking up nervously. "That's nearly every class—"

"Good morning, o cousins of mine!" a voice sang out. Rose turned around and found James grinning down at her, with Fred and Roxanne behind him.

"Good morning, Rosie," Fred said, stepping forward and leaning over her shoulder to steal a piece of toast. "I see you've got your schedule and everything."

"Flitwick just gave them out," Rose said, showing him the parchment.

"Let's see," Fred muttered, taking the schedule and glancing over it. "Transfiguration, potions, charms—the whole lot." He ruffled her hair and winked. "Looks fine to me."

"I hope you have potions with Al," James chuckled, peering over Fred's shoulder at Rose's schedule. "Five galleons says he'll accidentally blow up a cauldron."

Rose grinned, taking back the parchment and pretending to swat James with it. "You're horrible," she said, trying unsuccessfully to smother her giggles.

"Oy, we'd better get going, your first class starts in ten minutes," Dom called, rising from her seat at the table. She smiled at the three Gryffindor cousins and motioned for them all to follow her out of the Great Hall. They did so, exiting the hall in a big clump and drawing a few stares.

"Where is Al?" Rose asked, realizing she hadn't seen her cousin at all that morning. She glanced over her shoulder towards the Slytherin table and her eyes found his shock of black hair immediately; it stood out even more now against the green of his tie. He wasn't looking up and so she couldn't catch his eye. He was deep in conversation with Nathan Nott, the boy they had met on the train the day before.

"Looks like he's doing alright," James said, unusually serious as he watched his younger brother. Shaking his head, he turned to Rose with a grin. "He always was contrary, we really shouldn't be surprised at all he was put in Slytherin."

"But now I won't get to see him as much," Rose pouted.

Fred, who was walking next to her, put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to his side. "The family needs Ravenclaws," he said cheerfully. "And you'll still see him, just like you'll see us."

"Are you sure?" Rose asked, her voice laced with doubt. "What if he makes all new friends and we don't have classes together—"

"Rosie, we're a family," Fred said firmly, squeezing her arm. "You're stuck with us. Just because you're in a different house doesn't mean we're going to leave you alone now. And I promise that you'll see Al even though he's not in the same house as you."

Rose gave a small smile and nodded her head. Her chest swelled with gratitude and affection for her cousin. Fred squeezed her shoulder one last time and then withdrew his arm, staying beside her as the Weasley pack made its way through the corridors.

The older cousins walked Rose and Lucy to the transfiguration classroom, depositing them in the doorway with last minute words of reassurance. Rose waved and tried to smile, but it came out half-heartedly. When their cousins had rounded a corner and were no longer in sight, Rose and Lucy looked at each other apprehensively and nervously entered the room, choosing a pair of desks in the middle and sinking down.

First year students trickled into the classroom, most wearing the same nervous expression as the cousins. The Ravenclaws shared transfiguration with Hufflepuff, Rose realized, watching students wearing yellow ties file in and find seats. A pang of disappointment reverberated in her chest and she realized just how much she had been counting on having classes with Albus. Being here without him felt wrong somehow.

A middle-aged witch with light brown hair and dark eyes stood at the front of the room, pointing her wand at a chalkboard so that writing appeared, as though done by an invisible hand. The witch glanced towards the clock before lowering her wand and facing the students.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat, her eyes sweeping over the students as the chatter ceased. "Good morning, and welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor Lyncroft and this is transfiguration. While by no means easy, this will be one of the most important branches of magic you will study, and you shall find that this class requires a great deal of work both inside and outside of the classroom."

There were several groans at this, and Professor Lyncroft raised an eyebrow.

"However," she continued. "Should you put in the effort required, you will find that at the end of your studies you are able to perform complex and rather amazing magic. For example," she raised her wand and pointed it at an empty chair, "you can do this," she waved her wand once and suddenly, a chicken stood in the chair's place. The class murmured in appreciation. Professor Lyncroft smirked and waved her wand again, saying, "And this." The chicken was replaced by a tall grandfather clock, which chimed out the hour. "Or even this," with another wave, the grandfather clock turned into a small giraffe, which blinked warily as it eyed the students.

"Blimey," Rose muttered to Lucy, who was staring open-mouthed at Professor Lyncroft. "D'you think we'll be able to do that some day?"

"I hope so," Lucy whispered back.

With a final wave of her wand, Professor Lyncroft transfigured the giraffe back into a chair and looked out at the class again. "Now, you won't be doing anything like that for a long time," she said firmly. "You must start small with transfiguration. Careless spell-casting only leads to accidents, and my goal is to ensure that all of you learn how to properly control your magic while remaining safe and unharmed. That being said, anyone who does not take this seriously, who plays the fool in my class and thus puts themselves and others at risk, shall find themselves removed from class at once and not permitted to return. Do you understand?" She fixed them all with a stern glare that would have made Professor McGonagall proud.

"Yes, Professor Lyncroft," the first years chanted, all rather subdued by the change in discourse.

"Good," the teacher said. "Now, everyone take out parchment and a quill, and copy down what's written on the board."

They spent the majority of the class period taking notes, while Professor Lyncroft explained the theory behind basic transfiguration. At the end of the lecture she gave each student a match with the instructions to try and transfigure it into a needle.

Rose set the match on her desk and took out her wand. She waved it as she had seen the professor do and said the incantation. Nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing happened.

"Make sure you're focused," Professor Lyncroft called from across the room. "If your mind is still at breakfast, you won't be able to get very much done."

Pursing her lips, Rose focused with all of her might on the match, picturing it transforming into a needle. She waved her wand and said the incantation. The end of the match sharpened and the texture of it smoothed so it was somewhere between wood and metal.

"Well done, Miss Weasley," Professor Lyncroft said from behind her, reaching out and examining the match-needle hybrid that now sat on the desk. "That's an excellent start." She tapped the hybrid with her wand and it returned to its original state. Lyncroft handed the match back to Rose. "Try again, now that you know what to do. And five points to Ravenclaw."

Rose nodded and felt her face flush with pleasure. As far as she knew nobody else had made any progress on transforming their matches. With renewed confidence and a grin, Rose pictured once more the match in front of her turning into a needle, imagining every stage of the transfiguration. She waved her wand and murmured the incantation. This time, there was no hybrid, but a needle sitting in place of the match.

"I did it!" Rose cried, poking Lucy to show her. Turning away from her desk, where a stubbornly un-transfigured match lay, Lucy's eyes went wide and she took the needle from Rose, turning it over in her hand.

"Wow," she said. "Good job, Rosie."

The bell rang, signaling the end of class and Professor Lyncroft returned to the front of the room, calling out, "Good job today, everyone. Your homework is the first fifteen questions on page fourteen of your book. And well done to Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy for being the first to successfully transfigure their matches."

Rose's grin faded somewhat as she glanced over at Scorpius Malfoy who, sure enough, was holding a glistening needle much like her own and wore a small, pleased smile.

The Ravenclaws packed up their books and made their way down to history of magic. Rose, remembering her dad's advice in the letter, dozed off less than ten minutes into Professor Binns' lecture on prehistoric magic. She awoke at the end of the hour to Lucy poking her in the ribs and pursing her lips disapprovingly.

"You can sleep next time and I'll take notes," Rose offered. "We can trade off."

"Or we could each take our own notes," Lucy muttered, though Rose saw a smile peeking through her tight lips.

"That seems a bit silly though, doesn't it, when one of us could be napping?" Rose asked, giggling as Lucy's lip twitched.

"You're supposed to be the smart one," Lucy said as they set off to the dungeons, where potions was held. "Shouldn't you be the one taking notes?"

"Eh," Rose shrugged, shaking a piece of hair out of her face. "I'd rather sleep, though."

In charms, which they shared with the Gryffindors, they met tiny Professor Flitwick again, who spent the first half of class doing roll call. When he called "Malfoy, Scorpius," several Gryffindors began whispering and some raised their eyebrows.

"Why are they doing that?" Rose asked Lucy, frowning at her whispering classmates.

"I don't know," Lucy whispered. They twisted in their seats and Rose saw Lucy grin sympathetically at Scorpius, whose face had gone crimson and who was staring determinedly at his desk while Flitwick continued to call names. Rose sat back in her seat, wondering what was so special about Malfoy.

They had potions after lunch. Rose and Lucy paired up, sharing a table with Maren and Allie, the two girls who shared their dormitory. To Rose's delight they had the class with Slytherin. She watched the emerald clad students file in, sitting in clumps. Al walked in with Nathan Nott. He smiled and waved at Rose before taking the seat directly behind her. He was laughing at some joke and Rose turned and caught his eye. Al grinned at her and nudged Nathan who sat next to him.

"Hi, Rose, Lucy," Nathan said jovially. He looked like he was about to say more, but his eyes quickly shot to the doorway and his smile became even brighter as he yelled, "Oy! Scorp! Over here, we saved you a seat!"

Rose watched as Scorpius Malfoy scuttled across the room towards the two slytherins. He slid into the seat beside Nathan and Rose heard him whisper, "Why didn't you wait for me in the Great Hall?"

"I thought you were with us when we left," Nathan whispered back.

"Next time wait, please," Scorpius said quietly, bending down to retrieve his book and quill from his bag. "I don't like walking around here by myself."

"Alright," Nathan replied, giving Scorpius a smile much like he had given Rose. "And next time don't take so long to eat lunch."

Scorpius scowled at this and his eyes slid towards Rose, who hurriedly looked towards the front of the room and tried to act as though she hadn't been listening to their conversation.

Any thought Rose might have entertained about potions being a fun class was quickly expelled from her mind less than half an hour into the lesson. Professor Lecher, the potions master, had set them the task of brewing a potion to cure boils. Rose rushed into the task as she did everything else, bouncing with excitement.

It wasn't until they were halfway through and the contents of their cauldron was a murky brown instead of the pretty sky blue described by the book that Rose admitted something had gone wrong.

"You skipped step five," Lucy said, pointing out the line in the directions. "We never added the dandelion roots."

"Oh, bollocks," Rose muttered, scanning over the printed instructions and realizing her cousin was right. "What do we do now? Just keep going? I've got all the mushrooms cut up."

Lucy sighed and pulled the cauldron closer to her side. "I'll figure something out," she said. "I _told_ you to read the directions first."

In the end their potion wasn't the worst one of the class. That honor belonged to a Slytherin boy whose brew ended up as a foul-smelling mixture with the consistency of mud that made everyone in the classroom wrinkle their nose in disgust. This was only a small comfort to Rose, though, whose cheeks burned scarlet for the last twenty minutes of the lesson after she added the lemongrass too early and their potion began crackling and smoking heavily, only stopping when Professor Lecher came over and spouted water into the cauldron.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Uncle Neville gave Rose and Lucy large hugs when they walked into herbology and then proceeded to tell them about all the different plants they would be studying in the upcoming year.

After herbology they had defense against the dark arts, which was taught by a tall, kind-looking witch named Professor Spinnet. She had them take out their books and spent the class discussing all the different kinds of magical threats which existed. Rose found it fascinating, but when the bell rang signaling the end of class she still breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody had mentioned how exhausting it was to sit at a desk all day and learn about magic.

"Guess I should've put my money on you blowing up a cauldron, eh, Rosie?" James chuckled as he slid into the Ravenclaw table at dinner. "Al told me you had an _explosive_ start in that class."

"It didn't explode!" Rose snapped, glaring at her cousin and thinking she would like nothing more than to send a bat bogey hex at Al for telling everyone what had happened. "It just started smoking."

"Whatever you say," James said, laughing at her expression. "It's alright, though. My first day I accidentally vanished a kid's eyebrow in transfiguration and still have no idea how I did it."

"You didn't," Rose breathed, fighting to keep a glare on her face while holding in her laughter. She was still sore at James for making fun of her potions failure.

"I did," he said with a nostalgic grin. "I got bored and tried to transfigure it into a caterpillar and then it just up and disappeared."

Rose's resolve crumbled and she burst into laughter, receiving several curious stares from other students. She shook her head as she helped herself to a piece of steak and kidney pie. "You' rid'ick'lus," she mumbled. But she couldn't help a small smile from creeping across her mouth. Ridiculous or not, it was nice to have cousins at school with her.

Rose and Lucy found themselves in the library the next evening, accompanied by Fred and Albus.

"How're you lot doing?" Fred asked, taking out a drawing of a strange, furry creature and beginning to fill in the snout. "The first week can be tough."

Albus shrugged and bent over his transfiguration questions. "It's okay," he said. "Although I didn't think there would be this much writing. I thought James was joking when he said we'd get a mountain of homework every day."

"I think it's the only thing he didn't exaggerate," Rose said wryly, looking up from the parchment in front of her. Unlike her cousins she wasn't working on homework, but writing a letter to her parents.

"You get used to it," Fred said, grimacing. "Though it never does get any easier."

"Lovely," Rose snorted.

"Rose, have you done the charms homework yet?" Lucy asked, peering over her textbook. "What's the proper wand movement for the levitation charm?"

"Swish and flick," Rose replied. She had not done the homework yet, but remembered practicing the charm in class.

Lucy nodded and began scribbling rapidly on a piece of parchment.

At the mention of charms, Rose remembered the Gryffindors' peculiar reaction to Scorpius Malfoy's name being called the day before.

"Fred, do you know who Scorpius Malfoy is?" she asked.

Fred froze with his quill positioned over his parchment. Slowly, he set it down and turned to look at Rose. "Yes," he said, frowning at her. "Why?"

She quickly told the story of Flitwick's roll call and the whispering and stares that had erupted at Scorpius' name. Fred sat back, his eyebrows knitting together. Across the table, Albus and Lucy were both looking at Rose; Albus frowned while Lucy looked hesitantly towards Fred.

When Rose finished her story Fred ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Have your parents ever mentioned the Malfoys to you?" he asked, watching her with a serious expression.

"Dad pointed him out at the train station and said I should beat Scorpius at every test, but that's all," she answered, shaking her head. "Why? What did they do?"

"Er," Fred hesitated, putting an arm around Rose's shoulder and absently pulling on the ends of her hair as he thought.

"Mr. Malfoy was a death eater," Albus broke in, his face stony. Rose and Lucy's mouths dropped open and Fred's gaze snapped up curiously.

"Really?" Rose asked quietly, her eyes wide as she stared at her cousin.

"Yeah," Albus nodded. "My dad told me over the summer and made me promise not to say anything. He said Scorpius didn't need any more people judging him for his family."

"He was a—" Rose trailed off, deep in thought. She knew about the wizarding wars and the role her parents had played in them. After all, how could she not? Over the years various family members had shared different tidbits and stories about her parents and Uncle Harry's antics when they were at school. But everyone always refrained from telling her and her cousins anything truly disturbing, and they almost never mentioned any of the old death eaters by name. She guessed that some of her older cousins, like Vic and Dom, knew a bit more but, like Albus, had been sworn to secrecy.

"He did say most of his family's been in Slytherin," Lucy said quietly, biting her thumbnail. "No wonder everyone was so shocked when he was put in Ravenclaw."

"Nathan was telling me about it," Albus added. "He and Scorp have been best friends since they were babies, you know, like us, and he said Scorp doesn't know what to do, now that he's in a different house."

"How'd he end up in Ravenclaw if his family were in with Voldemort?" Rose asked suddenly, frowning. "That should be like a one-way ticket into Slytherin."

Albus' eyes narrowed and Rose immediately regretted her words. "It's not like that," he snapped, glaring at her. "Slytherin isn't evil, Rose, and if that's your thinking then I'll just—"

"No, no, don't, I'm sorry!" she said quickly, reaching out and taking Al's hand to prevent him from storming off. "I'm sorry, I didn't think—"

"You didn't," Al grumbled, sitting back in his chair and fixing her with a frown. "And if you think he belongs in Slytherin just because his whole family's been in there, then why aren't you in Gryffindor? Both your parents were, and so were Grandma and Grandpa. You and I are just as strange as he is when it comes to houses. In fact, I'm maybe even stranger."

"Al, don't say that," Lucy piped up, sending Rose a sharp look and putting an arm around Albus. "You know we're all in the right houses."

"Al's right, Rosie," Fred said quietly, giving Rose a small smile. He took bent back over his drawing and resumed working. "But," he continued suddenly, looking up and giving all three of his cousins a warning glance, "don't go getting too friendly with him. You never know with someone like that—" he trailed off and didn't finish his thought, but all three understood his meaning: be careful of Scorpius Malfoy.

The rest of September wore on. Rose found that classes were, just as her father predicted, not very difficult. Except for potions, which Rose was quickly growing to despise. She always seemed to miss some step, or else add an ingredient too early, and her concoctions never lived up to her expectations. To make matters worse, Scorpius, who had matched her in every other class, had a knack for potions and Professor Lecher had already declared him the most talented potioneer in the year. Rose grumbled and ground her teeth together every class as her hair frizzed around her face from the fumes and her mood plummeted.

"Rosie, you just need to be more careful," Lucy sighed in exasperation one day after Rose accidentally added two frog brains instead of one to their hiccupping solution.

Rose scowled and peeked at the table across the aisle, where Scorpius' potion bubbled away happily.

"I don't know why we can't just learn the theory," she grumbled as Lucy stirred the contents of their cauldron. "That's all that matters anyways."

"You know that's not true," Lucy said matter-of-factly. "You're just upset this is something that doesn't come naturally to you."

"Other things don't come naturally to me," Rose muttered flicking a flyaway strand of red hair away from her face. "They all make sense though."

"Potions makes sense if you're patient," Lucy said.

"Well it's stupid," Rose mumbled.

Her parents wrote faithfully once a week. After her conversation with Al in the library, Rose wrote home naming the other students in Ravenclaw and detailing what her cousin had told her about Scorpius Malfoy. To this she had received a lengthy letter from her mother going on about breaking down stereotypes and promoting inter-house unity and how it was wonderful that he was able to break out of his family's tradition. Her father, in a short paragraph at the end, was more reserved, telling Rose to still be careful of all boys, even if they seemed nice, and to be especially wary of Malfoy. Rose kept his words at the back of her mind whenever she was in close proximity to Scorpius, which was fairly often as they shared all their classes and a common room.

It wasn't difficult to avoid Scorpius, though, as he seemed to avoid most people on principle. At meals he was rarely separated from Nathan, in classes he kept to himself, and on the few occasions Rose found him alone in the common room, he was absorbed in his homework or a book and hardly looked up, let alone spoke.

At the end of September the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had their first flying lesson with Mr. Wood, the flying instructor and quidditch referee. Rose bounced with excitement as they walked down to the quidditch pitch; after spending countless hours playing quidditch with her cousins at home, she couldn't wait to get on a broom. She would have preferred to use her own broomstick, a Nimbus 3500 she had received for her tenth birthday, but the school brooms would do if it meant she could fly.

The students trooped down to the pitch, where Mr. Wood instructed them to stand beside a broom and wait. Rose walked down the line of brooms laid out on the grass. They were all frightfully old; some of them looked as though they had been there since Grandpa Arthur was at school. Finally, she chose a Cleansweep that seemed relatively new and stood beside it. Lucy stood next to her by a Comet 190, pulling at her hair and eyeing the broom nervously.

Remembering Lucy's fear of heights and how she always declined any invitations to play quidditch with the cousins, Rose gave her a sympathetic smile and reached out to squeeze her hand.

"You're going to be brilliant," she said warmly.

Lucy nodded, staring at the ground and chewing her lip.

"Really," Rose pressed on, "flying is in our genes, Luce, you have nothing to worry about. And the old Comets don't go too fast. You'll be okay."

"Alright," Lucy whispered, still looking a bit ill as Mr. Wood took his place in front of the first years.

"Now," he said firmly, glancing around to be sure everyone was next to a broom, "I want all of you to put your hand out over your broom like this," he stuck his right hand straight out in front of him so it was parallel to the ground. "And say firmly 'up!"

There was a babble of squeaky voices calling "up!" The Cleansweep flew up to Rose's hand immediately and she beamed. Beside her, Lucy had less luck. The Comet had merely rolled over, not moving an inch off the ground.

"You have to say it firmly," Rose told her cousin. "You can't be nervous."

"But I _am_ nervous," Lucy moaned, eyeing the broomstick warily.

"Try to talk like you aren't, at least," Rose said. "If you don't sound like you're nervous, it won't know."

Lucy huffed and straightened up, taking a deep breath. "Up!" she commanded, glaring at the broomstick. To both their surprise, the broom lifted off the ground and then slowly rose to Lucy's hand.

"It worked," she said dumbly, staring perplexedly at the Comet in her hand.

"See?" Rose laughed, patting Lucy on the shoulder. "I told you."

"Everyone, look at me!" Mr. Wood called.

Rose glanced around and saw nearly everyone had managed to get their brooms off the ground.

"Now, what you'll want to do is put one leg on either side of the broom like this," Mr. Wood said, demonstrating with the old Silver Arrow in his hand. "You'll want about half the handle in front of you," he continued. "And make sure you hold on tight with both hands!"

There was a flurry of movement as the students rushed to comply. Rose settled the broom between her legs and gripped the handle, waiting for the instruction to kick off.

"Now, bend your knees," Mr. Wood said. "No, Miss Amal, you're much too far down. If you ride like that a gust of wind will knock you off—there you go, much better. And Mr. Corner, you must keep both hands on the handle. I don't want anybody falling off."

Matthew Corner, the boy who had shared a boat with Rose and her cousins the first night and who was also in Ravenclaw, turned red and hastily adjusted.

"Good," Mr. Wood called, swiveling his head and nodding approvingly. "Now, whenever you're ready, don't rush, bend down a bit and kick off, like this." He pushed off the ground and rose in the air a few feet, hovering for a moment and grinning before tilting the handle and returning his feet to the grass. "Whenever you're ready."

Rose gripped the Cleansweep's handle and kicked off, feeling the ground drop out from under her feet as she flew into the air. With a smile, Rose tilted the broom's handle and turned so as to face her classmates, many of whom remained on the ground. A movement to her right caught Rose's attention and she turned to see Scorpius Malfoy, gliding easily through the air on a Comet 220.

"Rosie, look, I did it!" Lucy's voice called from below. Rose looked down and saw her cousin hovering three feet off the ground. Lucy's eyes were wide as she looked down and Rose saw her hands begin to quake, the knuckles white from gripping the handle so tightly. But Lucy smiled proudly, tilting the handle cautiously upwards and crawling through the air towards Rose.

"You did it, Luce!" Rose cried, flying easily towards her cousin. "See, and you thought you'd be terrible."

"I'm not sure if I _like_ it," Lucy said, her voice shaking slightly as her gaze dropped again to the ground. "But I did it."

"We can go back down if you'd like," Rose said. She would have preferred to stay in the air a bit longer, but Lucy's smile was slowly disintegrating into a look of unbridled terror the longer she stayed on the broom.

"Yes, that would be good," Lucy said, looking relieved.

Rose pointed her broom handle towards the ground and slowly descended. "Luce?" she asked, wondering why her cousin was no longer beside her. "Are you— _Lucy!_ " She shrieked when she saw Lucy, shaking with fright, her broom jerking uncontrollably through the air as she tried to descend.

Rose yanked her Cleansweep's handle up, rising back in the air as she watched Lucy thrash on her broom. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Scorpius Malfoy flying towards her and below, Mr. Wood mounting his own broom and kicking off, flying straight towards the girls. Both he and Rose cried out as Lucy's broom jerked again and Lucy she lost her grip on the handle, hurtling towards the ground and landing with a sickening crunch.

"Lucy!" Rose shrieked again, landing roughly on the ground and running to her cousin, who lay in a heap. Around them, the other students congregated, forming a spectator circle. Rose ignored them and leaned towards her cousin, whispering, "Luce, are you okay?"

Lucy groaned, her face white as she tried to sit up.

Mr. Wood appeared and bent over Lucy, putting a hand behind her head and gently helping her into a sitting position. "Where does it hurt?" he asked kindly, prodding along her collarbone and shoulder.

"My ankle," Lucy whispered, tears streaming down her face. Rose leaned down and swept a piece of hair away from Lucy's face.

"Rose, will you help?" Mr. Wood asked. Rose nodded and placed her hand behind Lucy's head, holding her up while Mr. Wood prodded along Lucy's ankle, stopping when she screeched in pain.

"It looks like it's fractured," he muttered. "You'll need the hospital wing."

"I'll take her," Rose said quickly.

"No, someone else will have to," Mr. Wood said. When Rose opened her mouth to argue he held up a hand, "Not that I don't admire your willingness to help your cousin, Miss Weasley, but if her ankle is broken I doubt she'll be able to walk, and I don't know if you'd be able to carry her if necessary."

"I'll take her," another voice broke in. Rose looked up in astonishment to find Scorpius Malfoy step forward from the circle, his hands in his pockets. Behind him, several students raised their eyebrows. Rose felt her own travel further up her forehead in surprise.

"Do you think you can manage it?" Mr. Wood asked, looking a bit unsure.

Scorpius just nodded.

"Excellent," Mr. Wood said. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Miss Weasley, do you think you can stand?"

Lucy paused for a moment and then nodded. With Rose supporting her on one side and Mr. Wood on the other she rose shakily, inhaling sharply when she put weight on her right leg.

Scorpius stepped forward and gently put one arm under Lucy's knees and the other around her shoulders, picking her up bridal style.

"Are you sure you can carry her all the way to the hospital wing?" Rose asked, eyeing Scorpius warily. He was taller than she was, but skinny, and really didn't look like he was much more capable of carrying Lucy than she was.

"I'll be fine," Scorpius said quietly. He looked at Mr. Wood, who nodded, and then turned and began walking towards the castle.

"I think that's enough for today," Mr. Wood said, turning to the rest of the students. "Everybody pick up your broom and follow me to the broomshed. We can talk about broom care."

Lucy returned from the hospital wing that evening in time for dinner and Rose passed the meal helping field questions from their cousins.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Molly asked for the third time, cutting Lucy's chicken for her. "If you don't feel perfectly well you should really go back to the hospital wing and have Madam Pomfrey look at it again just in case—"

"Molly I'm fine," Lucy grumbled, taking her fork from her sister and glaring irritably at her plate. "She fixed my ankle in about five minutes."

"Well, I just want to be sure—"

"Mols, let her eat," Victoire said from across the table, smiling sympathetically at Lucy. "It's been a long day for her."

"And everyone's been asking how I am," Lucy muttered. "It's like I fell off the astronomy tower instead of a broomstick."

"They just want to be sure you're alright," Dominique said, patting Lucy on the shoulder.

"You didn't look too great when Scorpius carried you off the pitch," Rose added. "Your face was all white and your hair was everywhere and your foot was hanging at a funny angle—"

"Scorpius Malfoy carried you to the hospital wing?" Victoire asked, raising her pale eyebrows in surprise.

Lucy flushed and kept her eyes on her plate. "Yes," she said quietly. "I couldn't walk by myself."

Rose held in her laughter for the sake of Lucy's embarrassment, but she caught Vic's eye and saw a glint of humor in it as her cousin smirked and took a sip of pumpkin juice.

No more was said about Lucy's accident or Scorpius Malfoy for the rest of dinner, as Lucy's mood became increasingly sour as classmates and cousins came up to ask how she was and what had happened.

By the time they entered the Ravenclaw common room, Lucy's face was nearly white again and the corners of her mouth hung down in a deep frown.

"You should go to bed," Dom said, taking Lucy's hand and leading her gently to the spiral staircase. "You've had a long day."

"Rosie, are you coming?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet," Rose shook her head, dropping down into an armchair and taking out a piece of parchment. "I want to write to my mum and dad and then I'll be up."

Lucy nodded and said goodnight as she and Dom disappeared up the spiral staircases.

Rose found a quill and dipped it in ink, scrawling out the usual first few lines of her letters home: she was doing well, although she missed them; classes were going well although she hated potions and thought it was stupid; everyone else was doing well and said hello. She then relayed the events of the day, describing Lucy's accident and broken ankle while also commenting on the antiquity of the school's brooms.

She had just finished her rant against the ban on first years bringing brooms when out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white blond hair and looked up to see Scorpius Malfoy settling into a chair near the fireplace, his herbology book open in his lap.

After a moment's debate, Rose sighed and pushed her parchment to the side before standing and walking towards the boy.

He didn't look up as she approached, which unnerved her. Strangely jittery, Rose pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and said, "Er, Scorpius?"

His silver eyes lifted from the book and landed on her, surprise and apprehension evident.

"I just wanted to say thank you for taking Lucy to the hospital," Rose said quickly, feeling her face heat up. Why didn't he say something, or smile, or react like a normal person? "It—it was a nice thing to do."

He blinked at her and still didn't say anything. Rose bit her lip to keep from adding that usually when a person said thank you the polite thing to do was to say you're welcome.

Scorpius' face had gone slightly pink and he looked at his hands, seemingly unable to decide how to respond.

His apathy annoyed Rose and she clamped her jaw shut to avoid saying something rude. "Well, that's all," she said huffily, turning on her heel and preparing to march away, thoroughly irritated by his lack of response and lack of interest in Lucy's well-being.

"It was no problem," Scorpius murmured softly. "I'm glad she wasn't hurt too badly."

Rose paused, her irritation still brimming just below the surface. She considered turning around, but decided against it. She sat back down in her armchair and pulled her letter towards her, scribbling a paragraph on how Scorpius Malfoy was annoyingly quiet and altogether a bit aggravating.

October flew by, and although she still sat mostly with Lucy in classes and spent her meals and free time with her cousins, Rose found herself making new friends at Hogwarts. Maren Thomas and Allie Boot were both funny and smart and occasionally accompanied the Weasley girls to the library to do homework. It came out that Maren supported the Wimbourne Wasps and she and Rose, who was a devoted Chudley Cannons fan, engaged in a raging debate over which team was better. After nearly an hour of disagreement and one torn poster, they decided to simply agree to disagree and both were careful not to bring up their professional allegiances again in conversation, though they still discussed quidditch often.

"Are you going to try out for the house team next year?" Maren asked over her transfiguration essay one afternoon in the library.

"I want to," Rose said, grinning at the mental image of herself in blue Ravenclaw quidditch robes, making save after spectacular save. "My cousin Dom is the captain and seeker and she promised to practice with me this year so I'll have a better chance of making it."

"You're so lucky," Maren sighed. "I wish I had a cousin to practice with."

"You can come flying with us," Rose said, her face lighting up. "It gets dull playing with the same people all the time."

When Rose told Dom about Maren, Dom grinned and said she would be glad to have some fresh talent to train. She ruffled Rose's hair affectionately, murmuring, "I wish first years could try out. You'd have a good shot of making the team; you're far better than most of the people who came out this year."

Rose relayed those words to Lucy in herbology, puffing her chest out with pride and saying loudly, "And she said after seeing me play this summer she thinks I could be even better than the Ravenclaw keeper right now. Remember on Uncle Harry's birthday when Aunt Ginny only got two out of five shots past me? And she played professionally."

Lucy murmured in agreement without looking up from the Tibetan Turnips they were supposed to be repotting. A few seats away, Scorpius Malfoy rolled his eyes. Rose scowled at him and turned back to the plants in front of her. She hadn't talked to Scorpius since she had thanked him for helping Lucy to the hospital wing. He made no effort to talk to her either, for the most part keeping to himself and not talking much to anyone.

"Er, Rose?" someone behind her squeaked. She turned to find a very red-faced Matthew Corner shrinking behind her, holding up his Tibetan Turnip, which was half out of its pot. "C-could you help m-me?" he stuttered, looking wildly around the room and avoiding eye contact.

Rose stifled a smile. It had become apparent within the first few weeks of school that of all the boys, Matthew Corner was the worst when it came to talking to girls. His face flamed up so quickly it rivaled even the famous Weasley flush, and his stutter became almost debilitating.

"Sure," she said, pushing her own pots aside so Matthew could set his down. "It's pretty easy, you just have to hold the leaves back while putting in the fertilizer."

"Th-thank you," Matthew stammered, leaning forward to watch Rose work. "You—you know, I think you're the s-smartest g-girl in our year."

Rose snorted, but couldn't hide the pleased grin which spread over her face. "Well, thank you, I suppose," she said airily, patting the soil down with her palm and handing the pot back to Matthew.

He took it and scuttled away. Rose went back to her own work, beaming.

October melted into November. The Halloween feast was just as grand as everyone had promised, though Rose was annoyed through most of it because her older cousins had spent the day in Hogsmeade without her. She cheered up considerably, though, when Fred promised that in two years, on her first Hogsmeade trip he would take her to the Three Broomsticks and buy her a butterbeer.

November at Hogwarts brought with it chilly winds and a promise of winter. The common room was packed nearly every night with students crowding around the fire. One such night found Rose sitting with the other first years, doing their history of magic homework.

"What year was the Wizengamot established?" Allie Boot asked, chewing on the end of her quill and leafing through the textbook.

"1146," Lucy said, scribbling away on a roll of parchment with a harried look on her face. She straightened up and rubbed her eyes, yawning. "Rose, can't we just owl your mum and ask her all this? It would save us loads of time."

"I already tried," Rose said sullenly, flipping a page in _A History of Magic_. "She wouldn't tell me anything, said I have to learn to do my own work."

"Does your mum know a lot about the Wizengamot?" Maren asked.

"My mum's on the Wizengamot," Rose said, glancing up and grinning proudly.

"R-really?" Matthew Corner asked, his ears going red when the girls looked at him. "D-does she—I mean—i-is she—"

"She's was on it for those big trials last year," Rose said, gaining confidence from the interest the others were showing. Only Scorpius was still focused on his work. The rest of the first years watched her intently.

"Blimey," Allie said. "The ones where those two old death eaters got off?"

"Yes," Rose nodded, swelling with pride over her mother's work. "She had to go into work every single day for three weeks, she said it was a nightmare."

"Did she really think they were innocent?" Maren asked quietly, looking around the room surreptitiously as though afraid someone might overhear.

Rose shrugged. Her mother refused to go into specifics regarding the case in front of Rose and Hugo, so her position and opinions on the defendants were as much a mystery to Rose as everyone else. "I dunno," she said loftily, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "She didn't talk about it much. But I know that if it were up to _me_ every single death eater from the war would be in Azkaban until they died."

Scorpius' head snapped up at this and Rose started.

"That's some of my family, you know," he bit out harshly, his hair falling into his eyes. His silver eyes narrowed as he glowered at her. There was a faint snap and Rose looked down to see his fist clenched around a broken quill.

Rose flushed as she remembered that Scorpius' own father had been a death eater in the war. She swallowed heavily as he glared at her.

The group went quiet for a moment. Everyone's eyes were on Scorpius, who up until now had never spoken of his family's role in the war.

"You think my family deserves to rot in Azkaban?" he asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Er," Rose faltered, looking around to Lucy for support. To her chagrin, her cousin had turned resolutely back to her homework, refusing to look up. "Well," Rose began, feeling her face burn as Scorpius continued to glower at her. "I—it's not my fault your family were death eaters!"

Scorpius stiffened, his jaw snapping shut. "Well then," he said coldly, snatching up his books and throwing them unceremoniously in his bag, "I won't make you sit with me anymore, then." He slung his bag over his shoulder and stalked out of the common room, not even deigning to look back. Rose stared after him with her mouth hanging open. She turned back to see the others watching her apprehensively.

"Rose," Lucy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose like Uncle Percy did sometimes at family parties. "How could you say that?"

"I didn't mean to insult him!" she cried defensively, looking around the group for help. "I just—obviously I don't want his family to go to Azkaban, but really it's not my fault that they were—"

"It's not his fault either," Lucy replied, frowning at Rose. "He didn't ask—"

"I know he didn't," Rose snapped. She ground her teeth and leaned forward, snatching up a piece of parchment she had been writing on and glancing over it quickly. She picked up a quill and made to continue her notes on the formation of the Wizengamot, but her quill stayed suspended over her parchment for several minutes.

Unable to concentrate with the image of Scorpius storming out of the common room burned into her mind, Rose threw her quill down in frustration and packed up her things.

"I'm going to bed," she muttered before hurrying up the spiral staircase to her dormitory, not bothering to say goodnight. Once upstairs she threw her bag on the floor and flopped on her bed. Shame coursed through her. Why had she said that? The anger on Scorpius' face made her stomach twist. With resignation Rose realized what she would have to do and buried her face in her pillow. Life would have been much easier if Scorpius Malfoy just gone and been sorted into Slytherin like he was supposed to.

Rose walked into transfiguration the next morning keeping a sharp eye out for Scorpius. She hadn't seen him at breakfast and she had a sneaking suspicion he was avoiding her. She dropped into her seat beside Lucy and took out her book and a quill, glancing at the door every few seconds.

Scorpius slunk in seconds before Lyncroft started the lesson, leaving no time for Rose to get up and talk to him. She only half paid attention to the lecture and fell far below her usual standards during the practical, only managing to turn three of her six buttons into thimbles.

The bell rang and Rose hurriedly grabbed her bag and ran out of the room, leaving Lucy behind. She stood outside the doorway and waited, twisting a piece of hair around her finger nervously. When Scorpius exited, she caught his arm gently and moved to walk next to him.

"What do you want?" he asked, wrenching his arm from her grip and glaring at her.

"I—" Rose felt her face flush and she looked at the ground. "I wanted to apologize. For what I said last night. I didn't mean—"

"I don't care," Scorpius snapped, picking up his pace so she had to run to keep up with him.

"Wait!" Rose cried, panting slightly as she took hold of his sleeve again.

Scorpius stopped and whipped around, his silver eyes blazing as they had been last night. He fixed Rose with a scowl and jerked his arm away from her. "Go away, Weasley," he hissed. "I don't want to talk to you."

Rose stared at him, taken aback by his aggression. She had never seen Scorpius so much as raise his voice at anyone before last night.

"I—" she started again.

With a snarl Scorpius turned away from her and half jogged down the corridor, weaving through the crowd of students so it was nearly impossible to follow him.

Rose sighed and her shoulders sagged.

"Rosie?" someone put a hand on her back and she turned to see Albus frowning at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Scorpius Malfoy hates me," she said, sighing heavily.

Albus raised an eyebrow and eyed at her warily. "What did you do?" he asked tentatively, looking as though he were unsure whether or not he wanted to hear the answer.

"I—er—mentioned something about death eaters last night," Rose muttered, her face growing red again. "And I forgot about—you know—but I tried to apologize!" she cried, seeing Al's frown. "I said sorry and he just walked away!"

Al sighed and ruffled his hair. "Why'd you say something like that?" he said finally, his green eyes piercing through her. "Why?"

"I don't know," Rose said, scuffing her feet. "It just—slipped out."

"Right," Albus said, rolling his eyes. "Of course."

The corridor was nearly empty. Rose watched as Al checked his watch, wondering if he was going to yell at her.

"We'd better get going," he said, shaking his head and beginning to walk. "I have charms next."

Rose bit her lip and followed her cousin, walking with him until they reached the history of magic classroom. She ducked in and quickly took her seat next to Lucy, who gave her an odd look but didn't say anything. With a sigh, Rose remembered it was her turn to take notes. She retrieved a sheet of parchment from her bag as Professor Binns' droning voice started in on famous trials of the Dark Ages. Halfway through the lecture Rose glanced over at Scorpius, who sat three seats down from her.

He was hunched over his desk, taking notes as Binns spoke. His writing was neat and his notes looked organized; there were nothing crossed out or written in the margins, and it was devoid of the doodles that decorated all of Rose's notes. She watched him for a few minutes, noticing the crease that formed between his eyebrows and how he wrote with his pinkie finger raised so it didn't smudge the ink. He looked up after a minute and glanced around the room. When he caught her eye Rose gave a small smile, hoping to show that she really wanted to make peace. Scorpius scowled and turned back to his notes.

Rose sighed. Making peace with Scorpius Malfoy did not seem to be in the cards.

The month before Christmas holidays passed by in a blur. Scorpius had taken to completely ignoring Rose, which really wasn't all that different from how he had treated her before. Rose, in turn, pretended Scorpius didn't exist and carried on the same way she always had.

She and Lucy spent many hours in the library with Al, who often brought Nathan Nott with him. The four of them managed to enjoy their time studying, and they discovered that Nathan had a knack for impressions. He kept them in stitches with his imitation of Professor Flitwick and Professor Lyncroft. Once or twice Rose looked up and find Nathan looking at her oddly, or Albus frowning at her, but she shrugged these moments off, choosing not to think about them.

Exams came and went and before she knew it Rose found herself on the Hogwarts Express heading back to Kings Cross. She sat next to Fred, and the Weasley compartment was just as full as it had been in September.

Dom and Molly grilled Victoire about her relationship with Teddy, which had grown more serious over the past few months. They now wrote to each other nearly every day and, according to Dom, he had coincidentally been in Hogsmeade on the exact days of the last two village trips.

James, Fred, Rose and Roxanne were all playing a game of exploding snap, though they were squashed so close together they could see each other's cards and it was less a competitive game than an excuse to laugh as eyebrows and sleeves were singed.

"So, you three, how was your first term?" Dom asked Rose, Albus and Molly after Vic forced James to put the cards away.

"Lovely except for the broken ankle," Lucy said, grimacing at the memory of her flying injury. "And you know Dad is going to make me practice with Aunt Ginny over the holidays. Says we need to be on the safe side."

"She won't make you do too much," Rose said. "When she taught me how to fly we just went around the backyard a few times and then she let me ride on the back of her broom while she did loops."

"But it'll be cold," Lucy pouted, crossing her arms. "I don't want to fly in the cold."

They all laughed and Molly ruffled her sister's hair, saying, "I think you'll survive."

"How about you two, Al, Rose?" Dom asked. "Al, how's life as a Slytherin?"

"Not too bad," Albus answered, turning a bit pink. "It's rather exciting being the only cousin in there. And I've seen the giant squid twice through the window in the common room!"

"You know, I think I read somewhere that every couple years the squid will get really angry and break the glass," James said thoughtfully, running a hand through his hair. "You might want to look into that."

"I'm not falling for that," Al scoffed, though his eyes widened slightly. "You know it's enchanted glass."

"But it's also a magical squid," James said, cocking an eyebrow. "And remember that time a bludger got through the magically reinforced glass at Grandma's?"

Albus' face paled and he gaped at his brother. "It—it's not—" he sputtered, his eyes growing frantic. "They wouldn't let—"

"You never know," James said, leaning towards his younger brother. "I mean, you've heard Dad's stories about everything that happened when he was at Hogwarts."

"James, hush, before Al wets himself," Vic said, reaching over to pat Albus on the shoulder. "The squid's not going to break through the glass," she added firmly.

"Are you sure?" Albus asked.

"Yes," Victoire said, glaring at James. "Your brother's just a prat."

Albus relaxed and Rose couldn't help the giggle that escaped. She leaned back against Fred and listened to James vehemently insist he was not, in fact, a prat.

They arrived at King's Cross around dinner time. Fred carried Rose's trunk off the train for her and she carried the cage holding his owl Goliath.

When they stepped onto the platform Fred turned to her and smiled, leaning down to nudge her shoulder. "We never got to hear from you, Rosie," he said. "How was your first term at Hogwarts?"

"It was good," Rose answered, spotting her parents waiting near the barrier with Hugo and the Potters. "But I'm glad to be home for a bit."

* * *

Edited 12/02/2016


	3. Chapter 3

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there's so many of them in the world." -Anne of Green Gables

* * *

Christmas at the Burrow was Rose's favorite time of year. The entire family, all twenty-six of them, stayed at Grandma Molly's for a week and a half of baking, storytelling and merriment. This year, after being away from her parents and brother for months, Rose was even more excited than usual.

Her dad had hardly parked the car when Rose tumbled out, not even bothering to take her trunk, and burst through the door into the front hall. She stood still for a second, taking in all the familiar sounds and smells of home. She could hear Grandma Molly's voice streaming from the kitchen, issuing instructions and reprimanding one of her children or grandchildren. The scent of delicious food wafted through the halls and the sound of nearing footsteps echoed from the stairs.

"Rosie!" Teddy Lupin cried, hurrying down the steps and engulfing her in a hug. His brown eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled and his electric blue hair tickled Rose's forehead. "I was wondering when you lot would get here. How're you liking Hogwarts? Your dad told me you're a Ravenclaw!"

"I like it," Rose giggled, smiling at her pseudo-cousin. Teddy had left Hogwarts two years ago, a fact Rose bitterly regretted; she would have loved to go to school with him. In fact, she had begged him to fail all his classes and stay on until she got there, to which Teddy had simply laughed and said the head boy couldn't fail all his classes and, either way, going to school with Fred and James for a year was more than enough.

"Staying out of trouble?" he asked, ruffling her hair and grinning mischievously. "You're not letting James and Fred rope you into helping with their pranks, are you?"

"No," Rose assured him. "I think Dad threatened to hex them if they got me in trouble."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Teddy chuckled.

A shriek resounded from down the hallway and Teddy looked over his shoulder in confusion. "Come on," he said, taking Rose by the arm and leading her into the kitchen, where the chatter was coming from. There they found Grandma Molly, Aunt Angelina, and Victoire all standing by the counter and all covered in flour, staring around perplexedly.

"What happened here?" Teddy asked, raising an eyebrow as he released Rose and put an arm around Victoire, leaning down to kiss her hair.

"The flour sack exploded," Victoire said wryly, gesturing to the floor where, sure enough, a decimated flour sack lay. "We don't know how."

Teddy looked as though he was fighting to keep a straight face, with the corners of his mouth quirking up. He managed to subdue a smile as he glanced at the flour sack, and then at the three women coated in its contents. "That's, ah," he paused, biting his lip, "unfortunate."

A peal of laughter echoed from the hallway and Rose saw Aunt Angelina stiffen, her eyes narrowing as she inclined her head towards the door.

"Hold on," Aunt Angelina said, putting a finger to her lips and gliding silently across the floor. Teddy and Victoire exchanged looks and nobody spoke while Aunt Angelina made her way to the door. She slowly wrapped her hand around the doorknob before wrenching it open to reveal James and Fred standing in the hallway, doubled over with laughter.

"H-hi, Mum," Fred choked out, attempting to straighten but shaking with renewed laughter at the sight of his mother, covered in flour and glaring at him.

"Frederick Johnson Weasley!" Aunt Angelina screeched, reaching out and grabbing both boys by their shirts, hauling them into the kitchen.

Teddy had abandoned his attempts to keep a straight face and was grinning widely now, catching James' eye and winking as Aunt Angelina deposited her son and nephew in front of the flour mess and put her hands on her hips.

"Boys!" Grandma Molly said, mimicking Aunt Angelina's stance and narrowing her eyes. "What did you do?"

"Er," Fred and James hesitated, both cowering under their grandmother's fierce glare. "Well, you see," James began, but then closed his mouth.

"Did you or did you not," Grandma Molly said dangerously, approaching the boys slowly, "charm that flour sack so it would explode all over your poor cousin and Fred's mum."

"Well," Fred started, but Aunt Angelina cut him off.

"The two of you are going to clean this up," she said firmly, glaring at the boys. "Without magic. So I suggest you get started if you don't want the whole family angry with you for postponing dinner."

"Yes mum," Fred said, trying to look abashed but unable to contain his grin. He caught Rose's eye and winked.

"We're sorry we covered you and Vic in flour," James added, failing just as miserably as Fred at controlling his mirth.

"Just clean this up, boys," Aunt Angelina said, her own lips starting to curl into a smile. She picked up her wand from the counter and swept out of the kitchen in a cloud of flour. Rose followed and heard Teddy and Vic behind her.

"I almost forgot to say hello, Rosie," Aunt Angelina said when they reached the front hall, turning and giving Rose a messy hug. "How's your first year going?"

"It's good," Rose answered, giggling, watching as Teddy and Vic walked to the living room whispering to each other. "Though I kind of wish I was in Gryffindor with Fred and Roxie."

"It's probably for the better that you're not," Aunt Angelina said, glancing back towards the kitchen from where renewed peals of laughter could be heard. "It's bad enough having those boys in there together, Merlin knows what you lot would get up to if you were all in the same house."

Rose laughed and Aunt Angelina excused herself to go wash up before she tracked flour all over the house. When she had gone, Rose's dad walked through the door, carrying her trunk and her mum's travel bag, whistling God Bless Ye Merry Hippogriff. He set the luggage down in the hall and took out his wand, levitating it up the stairs. They heard it land with a resounding thump and Rose smiled as her dad pulled her in for a hug.

"Welcome home, sweetheart," he said, tugging at her hair. "We missed you."

"I missed you too," Rose murmured, leaning her head against him.

"Do you reckon you're up for a game of chess later?" he asked. "I haven't had a good match since you left and I think if I try to play against your mum one more time she's might hex me."

Rose giggled. "Of course I'll play with you, Daddy," she said. "I haven't had a good match either. Lucy doesn't like chess and Vic and Dom are both dreadful."

"Well, we'll have a good game together then," Ron replied, squeezing his daughter one last time before releasing her. "And I won't let you win like I did last time."

"Hey!" Rose cried, scowling as her dad laughed. "You didn't let me win, I won fair and square; you even said it!"

"Alright, alright," Ron conceded, nudging her towards the living room. "So you did beat me fair and square. But tonight I'm not going easy on you. No matter how happy I am to have you back."

"Good," Rose said, smirking at her father and tossing her hair. "It won't be any fun beating you if you're going easy on me."

Her dad laughed and ruffled her hair as they walked to the living room, where they were greeted by a dozen family members. As Rose wandered around and hugged everyone, she couldn't help the grin spreading across her face. Hogwarts was wonderful, but there was nothing better than being at the Burrow with her family.

James and Fred managed to get the flour cleaned up quickly (Rose suspected they cajoled Teddy into taking pity on them and performing the cleaning charm) and so dinner was served at the usual hour. Grandma Molly's cooking was superb, as usual, even better than the Hogwarts feast. Rose dug into her roast beef and mashed potatoes eagerly, ignoring the raised eyebrows she received from her mother.

"Rose, darling, please tell me you don't eat like that at school," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"I 'on't," Rose choked out, hurrying to swallow.

"Yes she does," Lucy said, glancing disdainfully at Rose. "I've tried to tell her—"

Rose elbowed her cousin in the ribs and glared at her.

Hermione sighed, spearing a piece of broccoli and giving Rose an exasperated look. "You're so like your father sometimes," she muttered.

"Oy!" Ron exclaimed, looking up from his plate. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

Hermione shook her head and took a bite of food, rolling her eyes.

"Al, what's it like to be in Slytherin?" Teddy asked from across the table, turning away from Victoire and looking at Albus, who was seated next to Rose, with interest. "I don't know much about them. We haven't had any family in there yet, I don't even really know where the common room is."

Albus sat up straighter and opened his mouth to reply, but beside him James snorted and said, "That's 'cause no decent people are in Slytherin. I dunno what the sorting hat was thinking putting Al in there."

"James," Aunt Ginny said warningly, giving her eldest son a pointed look.

Albus deflated, his shoulders slumping as he dropped his eyes to his plate and started pushing his potatoes around. Rose frowned at James and put a comforting hand on Al's forearm.

"I'm just saying!" James said defensively, waving his fork around. "Isn't it true that nearly every dark wizard in history has come from—"

"James Sirius!" Uncle Harry snapped, silencing all chatter around the table as he stared angrily at his son. "I don't want to hear another word. All four houses have their good points, and personally, I think it's great that Al is in Slytherin. And anyways, now our family has been represented in every house at Hogwarts, which is rather impressive."

"We haven't had a Hufflepuff," Roxanne pointed out.

"Teddy was in Hufflepuff," Aunt Ginny said, nodding towards her husband's godson.

"Teddy's not technically family though," Fred said. "No offense, mate," he added quickly, turning apologetically towards Teddy, who shrugged unaffectedly.

"He's here, so he's family," Uncle Harry said firmly, his stony face discouraging any more discussion on the subject.

Nobody spoke for a moment, and then Grandpa Arthur called down the table to Rose's mum, "Hermione, will your parents be joining us on Christmas Eve? I have a few new questions for them about muggle Christmas lights—"

The babble broke out again around the table as everyone relaxed and began chatting again. Rose took her hand off Albus' forearm and patted his shoulder. He didn't look up from his plate.

"Don't listen to James," Rose said quietly, leaning closer so no one else could hear. "No one cares that you're in Slytherin."

"Are you sure?" Albus whispered, raising his green eyes to meet her blue ones. "He wasn't wrong, you know, about the evil wizards."

"Albus, you're not evil," Rose said, giving him a small smile and squeezing his arm. She felt extremely guilty now for the harsh words she had said about Slytherin house over the last few years. The look on Albus' face just then made her wish she was in there with him just so he wouldn't have to endure the comments alone. "It just wasn't what everyone was expecting," she said gently. "But then you never do what's expected."

"That is true," Al said with a shadow of a smile. He cut off a bit of roast beef and raised his fork up. "Thanks, Rosie," he whispered.

"You're welcome, Al," she responded.

After dinner Rose found Hugo and dragged him upstairs to the room her parents shared with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. Inside, her mother sat on the bed, waiting for them to arrive, a familiar, tattered book lying in her lap.

"Are you ready, loves?" Hermione asked, sliding over so her children could join her on the bed. Rose climbed up and sat beside her mother, curling into her side while Hugo plopped himself down on her lap.

It was five days before Christmas, which meant it was story time. Hermione held up the battered copy of _A Christmas Carol_ and smiled.

"You know I first read this book aloud for Christmas when Rosie was only a year old," she said wistfully, smiling down at her children. "And now this is my tenth year reading it and I still feel like it's the first time."

"That means I wasn't there for the first time!" Hugo exclaimed, sticking his lip out at the realization.

"You weren't," Hermione laughed, wrapping her arms around her son. "But you were there for the second, and that's just as special."

"Can I read the first part?" Rose asked, sitting up and looking hopefully at her mother with wide eyes. "Please, Mum? Just the first stave?"

"Alright," Hermione conceded, handing the book over. "I suppose it will be nice to save my voice a bit."

Rose grinned and took the book, folding her legs under her as she cleared her throat. "Are you ready?" she asked. Her mum and brother both nodded, and Rose opened to the first page and began reading the words which she had almost memorized, "Marley was dead to begin with. There was no doubt about that—"

The holidays passed in a flurry of activity. Every day was packed from start to finish with activities and catching up with family members. Rose spent half an hour one morning ranting about the awfulness of potions, to which her dad told her not to worry, because potions was quite useless and he and Uncle Harry weren't much good at it in school either and look what they had managed to do. At that her mum had smacked him, telling Rose she would get the hang of it with time, and that some things just required practice.

To Rose's delight she was able to spend the majority of her time with Fred and Albus. She had missed both boys dearly, especially Albus. To be sure, she still saw him every day at school at meals and in classes, but there was a difference between exchanging a few brief words in potions and spending endless hours together, as they had before going to school.

"I've missed you," Rose said one day when they were sitting cross-legged on the attic floor, playing exploding snap and munching on gingerbread. "I hardly ever see you now."

"We spent all yesterday together," he said, raising his eyebrows. "What do you mean you never see me?"

"I meant at school, you prat," Rose laughed, throwing a hunk of gingerbread at him, which Albus tried to catch in his mouth.

"You could always come to the library with me and Nathan," he said, rubbing the spot on his nose where the gingerbread had bounced off. "We go there nearly every evening to do homework."

"Would he mind?" Rose asked, perking up at the prospect of spending evenings with her cousin.

"Nah," Albus grinned. "He'd probably think it'd be fun. And bring Lucy too, I never see her anymore."

"She'd like that," Rose said, eating the last few crumbs of her gingerbread. She leaned forward and snatched the exploding snap deck from the floor, dealing out cards. "Alright, Potter," she chanted, looking him in the eye and giving her best competitive glare. "Time for the high stakes round. Loser has to help Uncle Percy reorganize his desk tomorrow."

Christmas day dawned bright and clear that year. Rose awoke to her cousin Lily shaking her excitedly, shouting about presents.

"Whasgoingon?" Rose mumbled, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow.

"Presents!" Lily cried, jumping off the bed she and Rose shared and onto Lucy's. "Wake up, wake up, we have to open presents!"

"Lily," Lucy murmured sleepily, "go back to sleep."

"Lucy, it's Christmas," Lily whined, sitting close to her cousin and poking her repeatedly in the side. "Wake up!"

"Fine," Lucy grumbled, sitting up and blinking as she looked around the room.

Rose stayed in bed, burrowing deeper into her blankets.

"Rosie, come on!" Lily cried, returning to Rose's side and tugging at her arm. "Get up!"

"Start without me," Rose groaned into her pillow.

"No," Lily said, glaring at Rose in a way that made her look extraordinarily like Aunt Ginny. "We all open our presents together."

"Merlin, fine, alright," Rose muttered, getting up slowly and stretching. Her eyes went immediately to the large pile of gifts at the foot of the bed. Moving much quicker now, Rose stood up and pulled on her dressing gown, attempting to tie back her hair, which was always especially wild in the morning.

The three girls sat on the floor and dug into their piles. Rose's face broke into a smile as she opened her gifts. Among them were a new Chudley Cannons poster from Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, a copy of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ from Teddy, a charm bracelet from Fred, a small bottle of perfume from Lucy, and a pretty leather-bound notebook and fancy quill from her parents.

Lucy and Lily squealed and smiled too as they opened their gifts. Rose glanced up and caught sight of Lucy's broad grin when she opened Rose's present: a bottle of Mrs. Flutterby's Magical No-Static, No-Frizz, No-Flyaway No-Worry Hair Potion.

"Good haul this year?" Rose asked, eyeing her cousins' piles.

"Excellent," Lucy said, ripping open a package of chocolate frogs. "Although Roxie thought it would be funny to get me a copy of _Flying for Dummies_."

Rose laughed and reached over to examine the book. It had a yellow cover and the table of contents on the first page read:

 **Chapter 1: Determining Which Brooms Are For Riding and Which Are For Sweeping**

 **Chapter 2: Carrying a Broom Without Incurring Injury**

 **Chapter 3: Proper Form and Positioning When Sitting on a Broom**

 **Chapter 4: A Comprehensive List of Things Not To Do While Airborne**

"That's brilliant," Rose chuckled, tossing the book back to Lucy. "Really, I almost want a copy."

Lucy rolled her eyes and threw the book back on her pile of gifts. "How about you, Lil?" she asked, turning to their younger cousin who had somehow already managed to make her way through half a box of chocolate cauldrons. "What'd you get?"

Lily swallowed her bite and grabbed a few items from her pile. "Look!" she cried, holding up a Holyhead Harpies poster and a new set of quidditch balls. "And Dad said when James gets a new broom I can use his Nimbus," she said happily.

"You're just as crazy about quidditch as Aunt Ginny," Lucy muttered, shaking her head.

"You're just angry you fell off your broom," Lily retorted, sticking her tongue out.

Lucy flushed, but didn't look angry as she snatched _Flying for Dummies_ and swatted Lily with it. "Watch it," she warned. "Or next time I go flying I'll tell your mum I need you on the broom with me for moral support."

Lily's eyes widened in horror and she snapped her mouth shut, returning to her chocolate cauldrons.

Lucy caught Rose's eye and the two girls grinned as they stood up to go downstairs for breakfast. "She's going to be a handful when she's older," Lucy said, glancing over her shoulder at Lily.

Rose looked affectionately at her younger cousin, who was flipping through the newest edition of _Quidditch Through the Ages_ and opening a pack of sugar quills. "She'll be alright," Rose said. "She's got us to keep her in check."

Christmas day passed in a flash of food, carols, and many, many hugs. After that the rest of the holiday flew by and before Rose knew it she was standing in the front hall with her trunk packed, waiting for her dad to get the car started so they could drive to King's Cross.

"I can't believe it's already time to go back," Albus said, dragging his trunk into the hall.

"I know," Rose responded sadly, surveying the front hall and trying to commit everything to memory. "It feels like we just got here."

"And I won't get to see you as much once we're back to school," Al said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "I've just gotten used to seeing you all the time again."

"Lucy and I will meet up with you and Nathan in the library now," Rose assured him. "So we won't just see each other at meals and in class."

"Brilliant," Albus said, giving her a smile.

"Alright, you lot, let's get everyone in the car!" Rose's dad called as he walked through the doorway and picked up Rose and Al's trunks. "Hermione's just finished putting the charms on it, we should all be able to fit."

"Ready?" Al asked, dropping Rose's hand and gesturing towards the door.

"Ready," Rose answered. With one last look at the Burrow, she walked to the car.

As nice as it had felt to be back at the Burrow, returning to Hogwarts was almost better. Rose and Lucy shared stories of their holidays with Maren and Allie and Rose found there to be a certain pleasure in not being swarmed by family members everywhere she went.

The first month of the new term passed pleasantly. Rose and Lucy spent every other evening in the library with Albus and Nathan, where they attempted to finish their enormous piles of homework. They were never very successful, as the boys were fun company and their studying nearly always devolved into raucous conversations, which earned them poisonous glares from the ancient librarian, Madam Pince.

On the nights she wasn't in the library with her cousin and new friend, Rose was usually curled up on a sofa in the Ravenclaw common room, either reading or (when Lucy was there) making a half-hearted attempt at her homework.

On one such evening in early February, Rose sat at the end of the sofa chewing on her quill and staring at her half-finished potions essay.

"Mind if I sit here?" someone asked.

Rose looked up to find one of the Scamander twins, she wasn't entirely sure which one, smiling at her.

"Er, no, go ahead," Rose said, turning back to her essay. She didn't know the Scamanders well, even though they came to several of her family's parties and they were good friends with her cousin Roxanne.

"I don't think we've ever properly introduced ourselves," the Scamander twin said, sitting in the middle of the sofa instead of the end, so he and Rose were less than a foot apart. "I'm Lysander." He held out his hand.

"Er—I'm Rose," she answered slowly, shaking his hand and raising an eyebrow.

Lysander grinned. "I know," he said. "But I wasn't sure if you knew which one I was, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you without making it embarrassing."

"Oh." Rose flushed, dropping her gaze abashedly to the table in front of her. "I knew who you were," she fibbed, knowing her embarrassment gave her away.

"It's quite alright if you didn't," Lysander said, settling back against the sofa and taking out a textbook. "Lorcan and I do look awfully alike, even our mum has trouble telling us apart sometimes."

Rose laughed and felt some of her embarrassment leave her. She glanced up and took a good look at Lysander, searching for any differences she could spot between him and his brother.

He simply grinned as she stared at him. "My hair's longer than Lorcan's," he supplied, having guessed correctly what she was trying to do. "And I have a freckle on my chin while he doesn't."

Rose's eyes swept from his dirty blond hair, which fell past his ears, to his pale blue eyes, to his chin where said freckle sat. "I'll remember that," she murmured, feeling her face heat up.

He really wasn't half bad looking, Rose thought. He was tall and gangly, which made him look awkward, but his shaggy hair framed his face nicely and his eyes were a pretty light blue that would have looked strange on anyone else but somehow looked just right on him. Rose shook her head, blushing.

Lysander had turned away from her and was now rummaging in his bag for a roll of parchment. Rose took the opportunity to go back to her potions essay, her face still steaming.

"Do you need help with that?" he asked suddenly, leaning over to peek at what she had written.

"Er, no," Rose stumbled, backing away automatically. Her eyes dropped back to the freckle on his chin he had pointed out. "I—I'm top of my class, did you know?" she blurted out, words pouring out of her. "I got all O's on my exams and I understand all the concepts perfectly right now." She cringed, snapping her jaw shut.

"Good for you," Lysander grinned, reaching out and ruffling her hair the way Fred and James did. "You should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you," Rose said quietly. A strange fluttering sensation filled her chest as he touched her hair and Rose sucked in a deep breath. Her face and neck felt as though they were on fire and she knew without even having to look in a mirror that they were both scarlet. Suddenly feeling as though she had swallowed a bludger, Rose quickly snatched her potions essay and shoved it in her bag, tossing her quill and ink in after. "Well, I've got to go," she said hurriedly, jumping up from the sofa. "Goodnight, Lysander."

"Ly," he said, unfazed by her sudden departure. He brushed a piece of hair off his forehead and gave her a crooked smile. "Most people call me Ly."

"Right," Rose breathed, wondering why her face still felt warm enough to cook an egg. "Well, goodnight, Ly."

"Goodnight, Rose," he called.

Rose didn't look back as she ran up the spiral staircase to her dormitory. Once there she dropped her bag unceremoniously on the floor and catapulted herself onto her bed, landing face first on the mattress.

"Rose?" Maren Thomas asked from across the room, walking over and sitting on Rose's bed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Rose wailed, wishing the blankets would swallow her up so she would never have to return to the common room or see Lysander Scamander again. "I was working and then Lysander—I mean Ly—came up and was talking to me—and he has pretty eyes and my face got all red and then I ran away and I think I might be ill."

"Ooh, he's one of the twins, right?" Maren asked, jumping excitedly towards Rose.

Rose nodded, still not lifting her head from the mattress. "I want to die from embarrassment," she mumbled, grabbing a pillow and putting it over her head. "So then I never have to see anyone again."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Maren said, prying the pillow away.

"It was," Rose insisted, pulling the pillow back. "I can never talk to him again now."

Maren sighed and the sound of the dormitory door opening startled both girls.

"Is Lucy in here?" Molly's voice wafted from the doorway. Rose didn't look up, still clutching the pillow over her head

"No," Maren answered. "I think she and Allie are in the library."

"Thanks," Molly said. There was a pause, and Rose could feel her cousin's eyes landing on her before Molly asked, "Rosie? Is that you? Why are you lying down like that?"

"She wants to die from embarrassment," Maren answered solemnly.

From her spot Rose flushed again and tried to kick her roommate, though it was made difficult by the fact she was still face down on her mattress.

"And why is that?" Molly asked, barely concealing her laughter. Rose heard her cousin's footsteps and felt Molly sit on the bed beside her, gently pulling the pillow away.

"Something about Lysander Scamander," Maren said.

"Rosie," Molly cajoled, gently tugging a piece of Rose's hair. "Sit up, please, and tell me what happened."

Rose shook her head, throwing her arm around in search of the pillow.

"Rosie," Molly's voice turned to a warning tone. "Don't make me tickle you."

Rose shook her head again, drawing her knees and elbows close to her as protection.

Molly sighed. "I didn't want to do this," she murmured, before lunging forward and pinning Rose to the mattress, her fingers digging into Rose's sides as the younger girl screeched and tried to wiggle away.

"Tell me what happened," Molly said through her giggles, moving a hand to the back of one of Rose's knees. "Come on, Rosie, I promise I won't tell Al or anyone."

"It—it's—so embarrassing," Rose pouted through her squeals.

"So?" Molly asked, tickling the bottom of Rose's foot and grinning. "We've all run through Grandma's house with our underwear on our heads, Rosie, I don't think we have much to be embarrassed about with each other anymore."

"Fine—fine!" Rose screamed, twisting away. Molly's hands dropped and she smiled triumphantly. She shifted her weight so she was sitting back against Rose's pillows and patted the spot next to her.

With a huff, Rose crawled next to her cousin.

"You can be in on it too, Maren," Rose said, beckoning the other girl, who had been watching the whole spectacle with amusement.

Maren looked surprised, but joined the two Weasleys on Rose's bed, sitting cross-legged in front of them.

"Right," Molly said, putting an arm around Rose. "Tell me what happened."

Hiding her face behind her hands, Rose recounted her conversation with Lysander, ignoring Molly's chuckles.

"And now I'm in despair," she finished dramatically, using the new word she had found in a book that week.

Molly laughed and tugged at the end of Rose's hair. "Sounds like our Rosie has a crush."

"I only just talked to him!" she cried, sitting bolt up straight and shaking her head. "And I just said I think his eyes are pretty and I like the freckle on his chin."

"Whatever you say," Molly laughed. "But mind you don't die from embarrassment anytime soon. Lucy would go berserk."

Rose scowled but didn't say anything as her cousin stood up and walked to the door.

Molly opened the door and was halfway out when she turned and said, "I'll have Dom tell you some of her tips." With a wink, she was gone.

Rose slumped back on her bed.

"The Scamanders _are_ very nice," Maren said, still sitting a foot away from Rose. "One of them helped me find the transfiguration classroom the first day."

"I know they are," Rose grumbled, wanting to cover her face with a pillow again but resisting. She bit her lip and looked up at Maren, who was smiling at her. "Don't tell anyone about this," Rose asked, her voice coming out higher than she'd intended.

Maren's grin widened and she straightened out her legs and laid down next to Rose. "I won't," she said. "But you'll have to show me which one of them he is."

After that it seemed Rose saw Lysander Scamander everywhere she went. He appeared in the corridors when she walked to class, giving her a smile and a polite "hi, Rose." He sat next to her at dinner once or twice, which caused Rose to go temporarily mute for fear of saying something embarrassing. On these occasions she caught Molly glancing covertly at her and trying to smother her laughter, with Dom and Lucy, who were in on the secret. Rose always flushed at her cousins' obvious amusement and sent them murderous glares across the dinner table. Lysander, for his part, seemed to notice none of this, for which Rose was extremely grateful.

Winter melted away into spring and when the days became warm enough, Dom agreed to go flying with Rose. The two girls meandered down to the quidditch pitch, Dom shouldering her Nimbus 3600 and Rose carrying Victoire's Comet 660.

The pitch was empty, much to their delight, and Dom took a quaffle out of the ball crate she had dragged from the nearby shed before kicking off with Rose. They passed half an hour trading off being keeper. Rose managed to save all of Dom's attempted goals except two, which made her puff her chest out with pride.

"I think you've got the makings of a really great keeper, Rosie," Dom grinned, holding the quaffle under her arm and flying closer so she didn't have to shout. "Mind you, it'd be harder if you had an actual chaser and not a seeker trying to score, but some of those saves would be impressive even for someone my age."

Rose beamed at her cousin's words, trying to look modest but unable to help the proud flush that crept onto her cheeks.

"Do you think I could make the house team next year?" she asked breathlessly.

Dom hesitated for a moment, her blonde hair flying around her face as she hovered on her broom. "I don't want you thinking this is a promise," she said warningly. "There's always tough competition. But, I think if you were to try out next year you would have a good shot at making it."

Rose grinned and reached out to hug her cousin before remembering she was on a broomstick a hundred meters in the air. Catching the handle quickly before she fell, she felt her face turn red as Dom laughed.

"Let's keep playing before you fall off," Dom suggested, flying back to her original position. "I'm going to try a lot harder now to score on you!" she shouted across the pitch.

"Bring it!" Rose called back, shaking her head to focus as her cousin raced towards her, swerving and ducking. When she was within shooting distance, Dom feigned right and then shot the quaffle towards the center hoop. Rose barely caught it, just managing to snag it with the tips of her fingers.

"Nice one, Rosie!" a voice which was not Dom's called from below. Rose nearly dropped the quaffle in her surprise before looking down and feeling her stomach drop instead. Roxanne stood below them, her broom on her shoulder, waving madly, with Lysander standing beside her.

"You two want to come up and practice with us?" Dom shouted.

"Sure!" Roxanne yelled back cheerfully, getting on her broom and kicking off, Lysander right behind her.

At the goal posts, Rose watched with apprehension as Roxie and Ly flew towards her and Dom.

"We'll take turns trying to score," Dom said to the newcomers. "Since Rosie wants all the practice she can get."

"Excellent," Lysander said, throwing Rose a smile. "Say, Rose, maybe if we practice enough we can both make the team next year."

"Yeah," Rose mumbled, feeling her face heat up. "Maybe."

Dom smirked, but didn't say anything as she gestured for Rose to throw her the quaffle. Rose complied and watched as her cousin tucked it safely under her arm before zooming towards her, eyes narrowed as she looked for a way to score.

Rose gripped the handle of her broom and forced herself to watch Dom and not let her eyes wander to Lysander. Dom was flying straight at her, but leaned slightly to the right. Rose narrowed her eyes and braced herself. When Dom was only a few meters away and raised her arm to shoot, Rose reacted a second before her cousin threw the quaffle, flying to cover the right hoop, and catching the ball easily as Dom threw it.

"How'd you know I was going for that one?" Dom demanded, furrowing her brow.

Rose shrugged and tossed the quaffle back. "You were leaning a bit to the right," she said. "I had a feeling."

"Well it was a bloody good one," Dom said, her expression a mixture of disbelief and pleasure. She flew back to where Roxie and Lysander were waiting and tossed the quaffle to Roxie. "Don't go easy on her," she commanded, eyeing Rose with a small smile.

Rose's cousins and Lysander spent the next hour assailing her with the quaffle. To her relief she didn't embarrass herself and managed to catch most of their attempted goals, though she had a harder time with Roxie, who had inherited her mother's chasing skill.

"Great job, Rose!" Lysander exclaimed, grinning after she blocked one of his throws with a particularly difficult maneuver her father had shown her that summer. "You're going to be one hell of a keeper pretty soon."

Rose flushed and looked down. "Th-thanks," she stammered, trying to suppress the ridiculously wide smile which had spread across her face.

"Anytime," Lysander said, taking the quaffle from her and throwing it to Dom.

They stayed on the pitch until the sky grew dark and Dom checked her watch and announced it was nearly dinner. They touched down on the grass, all a bit red faced with sweaty hair sticking to their faces.

"You two can go on," Dom said to Roxie and Lysander, tossing the quaffle between her hands. "Rose can help me put this away."

They both grinned and waved goodbye, shouldering their brooms as they walked off the pitch. Rose watched them leave. Roxie was talking animatedly about something, making big sweeping gestures with her hands while Lysander threw his head back and let out a peal of laughter.

"Rose, will you help me carry this back?" Dom asked, holding one handle of the ball crate. Rose nodded slowly and took the other handle, glancing over her shoulder at Roxie and Ly as she helped her cousin drag the crate into the shed.

"You did really well today," Dom said after she had locked the shed door, turning back towards the castle.

"Thanks," Rose said, smiling in spite of herself as she fell into step with her cousin. "Aunt Ginny promised me she'd play with me over the summer too, so I'll be even better for tryouts next year."

"Mhm," Dom murmured, watching Rose with interest. A smirk spread across her face as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "It was nice of Roxie and Lysander to play with us."

"Oh," Rose faltered, turning red again like she did every time Ly was mentioned. "Yes, well, it would have been odd for them to be on the pitch at the same time and not practice with us."

"It would have been," Dom agreed, her smirk growing. "Lysander seemed really impressed with your keeping skills," she said, waggling her eyebrows and nudging Rose's shoulder.

"Shut up," Rose grumbled.

They put the brooms away in the broomshed and made their way back to the castle. After dinner Rose met back with Lucy in the common room, where Lucy did homework and Rose relived that afternoon. By the time she went to bed she had come to the conclusion that Lysander Scamander was one of the most wonderful people she had ever met.

Spring at Hogwarts was even better than fall and winter, Rose decided as April bloomed and the grounds slowly started to come alive again after being dormant for months. Though it was still cold enough to warrant a cloak, Rose dragged Lucy and, when she could manage it, Albus outside to walk around the grounds and see the flowers and animals. In class she had been reprimanded more than once for staring dreamily out the window instead of paying attention to the lesson, and Professor Lyncroft had threatened to put her in detention if it happened again. The idea of explaining to her parents why exactly she had gotten a detention was enough to make Rose sit up straighter and pick up her quill, but her eyes still drifted every few minutes to the window, through which she could see tiny flowers beginning to burst from their bulbs.

The last week in April was a particularly warm one and Rose walked back to Ravenclaw Tower lamenting the fact she had been unable to persuade Lucy to do their homework outside. Lucy had insisted instead that they work with Albus and Nathan in the library, where they had been joined by Scorpius Malfoy.

Scorpius, it seemed, had decided to ignore Rose indefinitely for her comment about his family before Christmas holidays. While most days it didn't bother her what he did, somehow it was different when they were sitting in a small group at a table in the library and he engaged with everyone else while pointedly pretending she didn't exist.

It was for this reason that Rose found herself walking alone back to the common room. After over an hour of attempting to hold her tongue and make nice with Scorpius, she had gotten fed up with being ignored and pretended to have forgotten to give something to Dom in order to get away.

Rose grumbled to herself as she made her way down the seventh floor corridor, grinding her teeth as she thought of names that befit Scorpius Malfoy. They included, but were not limited to: Goblin-face, dungbomb-breath, and scumbag. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not hear the faint rustling sound coming behind her, nor the muffled footsteps.

A hand clasped on her upper arm and Rose shrieked as something pulled her towards the wall.

" _What the—_ "

A hand covered her mouth and rumbling laughter erupted beside her as Fred emerged from thin air, muffling her angry exclamations with his hand as his shoulders shook.

"Oh—Merlin," he wheezed, taking his hand away and bending over as he continued to laugh himself silly. "You—oh, your face, Rosie—"

Rose spotted a mass of silvery fabric, which she recognized as the Potters' invisibility cloak, clutched in his free hand. She glared at him, putting her hands to her hips like Grandma Molly did when someone was in trouble. "That wasn't funny!" she snapped.

"No, it was," Fred said, regaining some of his composure though his voice still trembled with mirth. "Oh, Merlin—" he wiped a tear from his eye and straightened up, his face red. "Oh, that was priceless."

"Why did you have to do that to me?" Rose whined. "I hate it when James sneaks up on me with that cloak, why did you have to?"

"Well," Fred said, having completely regained control of himself, "we need the cloak because you and I are going on an adventure, Rosie. I just thought it'd be fun to give you a bit of a scare first."

"An adventure?" Rose asked, her eyes gleaming excitedly as she forgot all about her irritation. "What kind of adventure?"

"An outdoors adventure," Fred grinned, taking a piece of battered parchment out of his pocket and unfolding it. "I know you've been dying to get outside all day."

"Is that why we need the cloak?" Rose asked, eyeing her cousin with interest as he tapped the parchment with his wand and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"You got it," Fred murmured, examining a section of the intricate map which had appeared. "I can't sit back knowing Rosie Posie hasn't been able to get out of the castle today when the weather's like this."

"Are we going now?" Rose asked, looking down suddenly at her school bag hanging off her shoulder.

"I'll wait a few minutes so you can put your things away and change," Fred said. "Mind you don't take too long, though."

Rose nodded and quickly began walking towards Ravenclaw Tower. Thankfully, the eagle knocker gave her a relatively easy riddle and she burst into the common room, running up the spiral stairs.

"Where are you going?" Allie asked, watching as Rose threw her bag on the ground and hastily tore off her school skirt and tugged on a pair of jeans.

"I'm not sure," Rose responded enthusiastically, not bothering to explain further as she grabbed her wand and ran back out of the room.

Fred was in the same spot and Rose ran up to him eagerly. He grinned and pocketed the map before throwing the cloak over them.

He led her down to the main floor and then to the large oak doors. With a flick of his wand Fred undid the locks and he slowly pushed the doors open, grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her outside.

The grounds were beautiful, even in the moonlight. Rose's head swiveled around to take it all in. To her left the lake seemed to glow in the moonlight; on the other side the Forbidden Forest stood, menacing as always, but with bunches of flowers springing up at the edges.

"Come on," Fred said, tugging Rose out of her musings and dragging forward as he pulled the cloak off them.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked, trotting behind her cousin.

"You'll see," Fred answered, grinning at her over his shoulder.

They wandered over to the broom shed and Fred pulled out his Nimbus, which he leaned against his shoulder as he directed Rose towards the quidditch pitch.

Rose said nothing, but she buzzed excitedly as she made her way down to the pitch, glancing occasionally over at Fred with his broom.

When they reached the pitch Fred stopped and swung a leg over his broom, moving back so that there was space in front of him for Rose. She climbed on and held tight to the handle as Fred kicked off.

The cool air whipped around her face as Fred steered them around the quidditch pitch a few times. Rose leaned back slightly so her shoulders touched her cousins chest.

"I bet you haven't been able to fly much, have you?" Fred asked.

"No," Rose shook her head sadly. "I come out and practice with Dom a lot, but I have to borrow Vic's broom for that and I can never just take a ride for fun."

"Well, next year you can bring your own broom," Fed said. "And then when we do this you can ride your own."

"And we can race!" Rose exclaimed, her face lighting up at the prospect.

Fred chuckled and tugged the end of her hair. "Yeah, we can race," he laughed.

They rode in silence for a few minutes. After circling the quidditch pitch Fred turned the broom and took off towards the castle.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked, gripping the handle tightly as she looked around. She had never seen the castle from this altitude. It looked, if possible, even more regal from up high, with the towers lit up and the stone walls glowing in the moonlight.

"Just around the castle a bit," Fred said. "I like to fly around the astronomy tower, it has the best view of the stars."

"Do you do this often?" Rose asked, craning her neck to try and catch a glimpse of Ravenclaw Tower.

"I try to do it at least once a year," Fred said. "Teddy took me and James our first year, and last year I decided to go by myself."

"And this year you took me," Rose said, flushing with pride that Fred had chosen to share this with her, and not James or Albus or even his sister.

"I thought you would appreciate it the most," Fred replied, taking a hand off the broom for a moment to squeeze her arm. "James and Al are great to fly with and play quidditch, but neither of them really care for watching stars."

Rose nodded, looking towards the sky where hundreds of pinpricks of light were visible. She squinted and tried to pick out the ones they had learned about in astronomy.

"That's Venus," she said, pointing towards a particularly bright speck.

"Yup, and that constellation over there is Orion's Belt," Fred said, leaning over and pointing out the shape in the sky.

"Uncle Harry told me that Sirius' father's name was Orion," Rose murmured. "That everyone in that family was named after stars."

"I heard that too," Fred said quietly. "That's why Teddy's grandma's name is Andromeda. Did you know she was Sirius' cousin?"

"I didn't," Rose whispered. Her eyes widened and she turned to look at Fred. "But she's not—mum and dad said that Sirius' family supported—"

"Andromeda never supported Voldemort," Fred said firmly. "She got disowned, like Sirius."

"Oh," Rose frowned, staring down at the broom handle. "That's so sad."

"Better than staying in a family that doesn't want you," Fred replied. "But nothing like that is ever going to happen to us, Rosie. That's why our parents fought in that war, so that things like that won't happen."

"I know," Rose said. "But it's still sad."

Fred nodded, and Rose felt him shift so he was staring at the sky again. After a moment he spoke again, pointing at something above Gryffindor Tower. "That constellation right there is Scorpius," he said.

Rose looked up in surprise, her eyes following the line of Fred's hand and tracing out the picture in the sky. "I didn't know that was a constellation," she said.

"It's not one of the more well-known ones," Fred muttered. "And I guess some traditions die hard."

"What—" Rose began, furrowing her brow. Her face cleared after a moment as she realized what he had meant. "Is he—Scorpius—he's related to—"

"His grandmother is Andromeda's sister," Fred said, still staring at the constellation.

"Is she—"

"She wasn't disowned."

"Oh." Rose paused for a moment, her face scrunching up as she thought over what Fred had told her. "So he and Teddy are related?"

"They're some type of cousins," Fred answered. "Though I guess neither of them would really consider the other family. I heard my parents talking a few years ago, apparently Andromeda hasn't spoken to her sister since before Teddy's mum was born."

Rose closed her mouth, sitting in silence as she mulled over this information.

Fred steered the broom around the astronomy tower and then stopped so they hung in the air, the breeze rustling Rose's hair as she sat and stared at the sky.

"Do—do you think that they—I mean, Andromeda's sister and Scorpius' family—do you think they still believe all that—everything they believed during the war?"

Fred sighed and tugged Rose closer to him. "I don't know, Rosie," he said. "Uncle Harry says Scorpius' dad changed after the war, and the Greengrasses aren't blood purists so Scorpius' mother doesn't believe in any of it. But, I don't know, Rosie. Those kinds of prejudices don't just up and disappear."

"Scorpius never mentions his grandparents or the war," Rose said. "The only time he gets angry is when someone mentions it."

"He's probably ashamed," Fred said. "Wouldn't you be?"

"I suppose," Rose said. "It's strange, though. Most people like talking about the war."

"We like talking about the war because our parents won the war," Fred murmured. "Not everybody has that."

Rose smiled and turned around to face her cousin. "When did you get so smart?" she asked. "Vic's usually the one who says things like that."

Fred shrugged. "I guess I've been hanging around with our parents a bit too much," he said. "The Weasley nobility is starting to show."

"Shut up," Rose giggled, trying to smack him.

Fred caught her arm and returned it to her side. "Don't go making us fall, Rose Minerva Weasley," he said firmly. "Your dad would murder me if you got hurt."

"Fine," she grumbled in mock annoyance, regaining her grip on the broom handle. Fred steered so they were flying through the air once again, around the back of the castle.

"Enough about the war though," Fred said. "You're almost done with your first year of school. How was it, honestly? Don't just say it was good."

"It was," Rose hesitated, "it _was_ good, but it didn't go how I expected."

Fred nodded. "You were probably expecting it would be like home, where you always saw Albus and James and I, just you would have lessons."

"Yeah," Rose admitted. "But I made new friends. And now I talk to Lucy a lot more."

"And what's your favorite class?" Fred asked. "I don't think I've ever heard you give anyone a straight answer on that."

"I don't know," Rose frowned. "They're all interesting, except for history of magic, but I don't know if I have a favorite."

"Wait until third year," Fred said. "You get to take new ones and then you'll find something you love."

"Did you?" Rose asked, embarrassed she had never thought to ask her cousin what his favorite class was before.

"Yeah," Fred answered, grinning. "Care of magical creatures. It's brilliant."

"I'll take it when I'm a third year then," Rose said.

"I look forward to it," Fred replied. He turned his head towards the castle and then checked his watch. "I reckon we should be getting back," he said. "Filch patrols the ground floor in half an hour."

They glided easily back to the quidditch pitch, where they landed softly on the grass. Fred returned his broom to the broomshed and took the invisibility cloak and Marauder's map from the corner where he had hidden them and the two cousins walked quietly back to the castle.

When they reached the front doors Fred threw the cloak around himself and Rose and took out the map. Carefully, they made their way up to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Thank you for taking me," Rose said quietly when they reached the eagle knocker.

"No problem, Rosie," Fred answered, pulling her in for a hug. "I couldn't let my favorite cousin finish her first year without going for a nighttime fly."

Rose giggled and Fred released her. She turned to the knocker.

"What can go up but not down?" the eagle asked.

"Er," Rose thought. "Oh! Your age."

"That is correct," the eagle said as the door swung open.

"Goodnight, Rosie," Fred said, squeezing her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Fred," she grinned over her shoulder as she walked into the common room. The door shut behind her and Fred was gone. Rose climbed the spiral staircase to her dormitory slowly. She could hear the wind whistling outside. With a smile, she twisted the doorknob and entered her dorm. She glanced out the tall, arched window. Scorpius glinted back at her, as if bidding her goodnight.

April slipped by. On May 2nd the annual Victory Ball was held, though Rose wasn't allowed to go as it was for fourth years and above. She and Lucy joined Victoire, who turned eighteen that day, Dom and Molly in Dom's dormitory as the older girls got ready. Afterwards, she and Lucy returned to their dorm to tell Maren and Allie about their cousins' dresses and hair.

The next morning Rose trooped down to the common room to be surrounded by her cousins, who were all screeching wildly with news.

"What? What?" Rose asked, swiveling her head wildly around as her cousins converged like vultures. "What happened?"

" _Victoire and Teddy are moving in together_!" Dom shrieked, a rabid smile plastered on her face. "He came to the ball last night to surprise her and asked her to live with him after she graduates!"

"What?!" Rose cried, staring at her oldest cousin, whose face had gone red.

"We're going flat hunting right after exams," she mumbled, unable to smother her smile.

Rose cried out happily, leaping forward and embracing her cousin. "This is so exciting!" she shouted into Victoire's shoulder, which was as high as she could reach seeing as Rose barely measured at five foot two and Victoire was nearly six feet tall.

"I know," Vic laughed, hugging Rose. "And I promise once we're all moved in we'll have everyone over."

Word spread quickly that Vic and Teddy were moving in together and Rose and Lucy spent an hour in the library with Albus and Nathan discussing the turn of events. The boys were decidedly less interested in the new development, but Rose continued chattering about it anyway.

All too soon June arrived. Rose's birthday was on June first and her cousins surprised her with a celebration in Ravenclaw Tower.

"Happy birthday, Rosie!" Fred and James cried in unison as they forced a muggle party hat on her head.

The Weasleys and Potters stayed in the common room as late as they could, until Victoire ordered everyone not in Ravenclaw to go back to their own common rooms. Rose fell asleep quickly that night, her mind buzzing and her heart overflowing.

Exams descended upon Hogwarts and it seemed that nobody did anything except study anymore. Rose huffed in annoyance in the Ravenclaw common room one night, looking up from The Magician's Nephew. She was growing bored of spending every evening reading by herself. Lucy, Al, and Nathan all were busy studying and Rose didn't feel the need to do the same. Her older cousins were even worse. Victoire was neck deep in books in a corner of the common room, muttering about being accepted into the Auror program. Dominique was no better, sitting with a cluster of fifth years studying for O.W.L.s. Molly, who had drawn up study schedules for everyone, spent most of her days in the library.

"I can't believe you haven't studied for anything," Lucy grumbled over breakfast the morning before exams started, scowling as she poured syrup over her French toast. "I feel like I've hardly left the library in two weeks."

"You could always stay in the common room with me," Rose answered, shoveling eggs in her mouth.

"I couldn't," Lucy said in an affronted tone, pulling at her ponytail. "I'd never pass and what would my parents say if I failed all my exams?"

"You wouldn't fail," Rose said. "Honestly, Luce, it's not that difficult. We already know almost everything we need to for exams."

"Maybe you do," Lucy muttered, spearing a kipper. "The rest of us need to study, though."

They sat their exams, and though Lucy almost pulled out a handful of hair from tugging the end of her ponytail constantly for the duration of every test, at the end they were no worse for wear. Lucy insisted she failed transfiguration, and Rose's potions practical didn't go quite as well as she hoped, but overall both girls thought they had done well enough.

Gryffindor won the quidditch cup, a fact which James shouted gleefully across the Great Hall one evening. Rose grinned and ran over to give her cousin a hug. It had been his first season on the team, and he was glowing with pride.

And so, the Weasleys at Hogwarts were in good spirits as they took their seats for the final feast. Beside them, Dom had purple circles under her eyes and whenever anyone asked how exams went she responded with a curt, "let's not talk about it."

Victoire looked exhausted, but still managed a smile as it was announced that Hufflepuff won the house cup. "Teddy will be happy about that," she said as the food appeared.

Rose returned to her dormitory that night and packed her trunk, chattering with Maren and Allie as they all promises to write and meet up in Diagon Alley one afternoon, since Maren's father's office was there and she spent most of her summers with him.

Exam results came out and the girls passed everything; Lucy was pleased to see she hadn't actually failed transfiguration. Rose glowed with pride to see she had made top marks in every class, until she reached the bottom of the page and saw she had come in second in potions, right behind Scorpius Malfoy.

* * *

Edited 12/26/2016


	4. Chapter 4

Rose couldn't wait for summer. Hogwarts had been fun and she enjoyed seeing her cousins and friends every day, but the prospect of spending two months at home with her family without any school work made her heart thump with excitement.

When the Weasley-Potter clan reached King's Cross Rose hugged each of her cousins goodbye and made promises to write before running into her father's outstretched arms and wandering towards her family's car. She spent nearly the entire drive home chattering about the feast and exams and her excitement over being able to bring her broom to school in September.

The sight of her own house, with the familiar foyer and welcoming smell of cinnamon buns overwhelmed Rose for a moment when she walked through the front door. After being away for nearly a full nine months Rose wanted to run to each room and make sure everything was as she had left it. And although she hid it, Rose was immensely glad when her mum told her they would be spending the first bit of summer at home just the four of them. Extended family was all well and good, but it had been a long time since her family had spent time together and Rose found she rather missed it.

The Potters had gone on holiday to France and Lucy's family had gone to Ireland. Rose missed Albus and Lucy but was perfectly content to spend the time at home, where her mum exclaimed proudly over her marks and her dad played dozens of games of chess with her and Hugo demonstrated the new quidditch maneuver Aunt Ginny had taught him.

To her chagrin, Rose discovered that in the months since Christmas her little brother had grown, making him undeniably taller than her. Hugo grinned down at her as they stood next to each other and Rose scowled.

"Don't worry, Rosie," her dad had told her reassuringly, "you're only twelve. There's still a good chance you'll grow more."

For her birthday, which had been in the first week of June, her parents bought her a beautiful tawny owl so she wouldn't have to borrow one of her cousins' to write home. Rose oohed and aahed when her dad brought the cage out and her parents beamed at her reaction. After taking numerous suggestions from her parents and Hugo, Rose named her owl Aslan, after the lion in _The Chronicles of Narnia_.

A month passed pleasantly; Rose spent her days playing one-on-one quidditch with Hugo and making her way through the _Anne of Green Gables_ books, which her mother had bought for her at a second hand bookstore in London.

By the time Albus and Lucy returned from their holidays it was time for them to go to the Burrow for the last month of holiday, as was the Weasley-Potter summer tradition. To Rose's delight, her parents said they would not be returning home before leaving for school, as it was easier for the whole family to make the trip to King's Cross together. She packed her school things with her summer clothes, grinning madly the whole time as she thought of the prospect of arriving at the train station with all her cousins surrounding her, instead of waiting nervously like last year.

Rose walked through the front door of the Burrow behind her parents and was immediately surrounded by family, all buzzing excitedly after being separated for an unusually long period of time.

"How are you?" Dominique asked, pulling Rose in for a hug, her long blonde hair obscuring Rose's sight. "I feel as though I haven't seen you in ages!"

"M'alright," Rose responded thickly through her cousin's hair, pulling back to try and draw a breath. "You?"

"Brilliant," Dom said with a grin, releasing Rose. "We'll talk later, yeah?"

She disappeared before Rose had a chance to answer and Fred and James came into view.

"Hello, Rosie!" James called, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Miss me?"

"Definitely not," Rose said teasingly.

James pretended to scowl and ruffled her hair, moving aside so Fred could wrap Rose in a tight hug.

"Have a good start to your holiday?" he asked.

"Mhm," Rose murmured. "I wish I could've seen you lot more, though."

Fred shrugged, still not letting go of her. "You didn't miss much," he said. "Most everyone was abroad, and Roxie and I were helping Dad in the store."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rose demanded, breaking out of Fred's embrace to scowl at him. "I could've helped too, it would have been like when we were little!"

Fred chuckled and ruffled Rose's hair. "We were under strict orders not to interrupt your family for any reason."

"But that's still not— _oof!_ "

There was a crash and a flailing of limbs as Rose fell to the ground with a heavy thud, another person crying out as they fell with her.

"Sorry 'bout that, Rosie," Albus muttered, rolling to the side and shaking his hair out of his eyes. He fixed her with the shit-eating grin all three Potter children seemed to have inherited. "I got excited and overshot a bit."

"No kidding," Rose muttered, pushing herself off the ground. She had just regained her balance when she was promptly knocked over again, this time by Lucy, whose arms wrapped around Rose in a suffocating hug as they hurtled to the ground, landing on top of Albus.

" _Oof_ ," all three cousins groaned.

"You two are trying to kill me," Rose complained, massaging her ribcage, which was probably permanently bruised now.

"I'm excited to see you!" Lucy exclaimed, detangling herself from the pile and standing up. "We haven't seen each other in nearly a month!"

"That doesn't mean you have to assault me," Rose grumbled, taking Albus' extended hand and using it to hoist herself to her feet.

"We didn't assault you," Albus said. "We hugged you."

"And knocked me over," Rose responded pointedly.

"It's not our fault you're so small," Albus said with a shrug, grinning at the frown on Rose's face.

"I'm not small!" she exclaimed, glaring at him. "You're only three inches taller than me!"

"Whatever you say, Rosie," Albus said, still grinning as he tapped her on the head.

"Come on," Lucy said, stepping between the two before things escalated. While rolling her eyes as she grabbed both her cousins by the hand and dragged them down the hallway. "Grandma Molly said if we get to the kitchen before the others we can lick the extra fairy cake icing off the bowl."

The family fell into their usual routine at the Burrow, with the cousins spending their days playing quidditch and lounging about the house. They had visitors nearly every day, usually either Uncle Neville and his family or the Scamanders. When Lorcan and Lysander came to visit Rose made a point to spend the day inside with Lucy so as not to embarrass herself in front of Lysander. Somehow, though, he always managed to find her and say hello and she always answered with eloquent greetings like "I haven't been to the loo all day," before turning red and running away.

When there were no boys present to give her butterflies in her stomach, Rose, for the most part, spent her days with Albus and Lucy, catching up on their holidays. Rose showed her cousins Aslan and they both oohed and aahed appropriately over the owl, before asking wide-eyed if they would be allowed to use him as well.

Rose assured them both they would be able to use Aslan whenever they liked, puffing out her chest and smiling benevolently. There had never been a question as to whether or not her cousins would be able to use the owl, but it still felt wonderful to grant them permission as though it were some selfless act on her part.

Victoire came to visit a few days after everyone arrived, telling her younger cousins all about auror training and what it was like to live in London, promising to have them all over for tea in December. Uncle Bill looked disgruntled when his daughter began describing the décor in her flat and Dom whispered to everyone that he had gone "completely ballistic," when Vic announced her plans to move in with Teddy.

Rose ignored Uncle Bill and hung on to Vic's every word, her eyes wide as she imagined herself one day living in a London flat and spending her days preparing to go on dangerous missions and fight dark wizards just like her parents and cousin.

Teddy himself came to visit frequently, sometimes accompanying Victoire and sometimes by himself. He had recently been promoted at the ministry, where he worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Grandma Molly baked a cake and held a celebration dinner for him one night, reminiscing tearfully about how Uncle Percy had gotten his start in the very same department. Teddy smiled politely and nodded, before taking a seat beside Lily Potter and letting her do his makeup with her new fairy eyeshadow set.

Hogwarts letters came two weeks into the stay. To Lucy's dismay and everyone else's delight Molly had been made a prefect. Aunt Audrey made a cake that night and Uncle Percy clapped his eldest daughter on the shoulder and proudly announced, "She'll be minister of magic one day!" At this the corners of Lucy's mouth had tugged down so far Rose had worried they might actually stick that way. It took nearly an entire afternoon of reading through the ridiculous articles in Witch Weekly with Lily and Rose for Lucy to smile again.

Before anyone knew it September 1st arrived and it was time for the cousins to return to school. The Burrow was in chaos that morning, with all nine school-aged children and their parents scurrying around trying to locate forgotten books and shoes. Somehow, they managed to get all nine trunks, six broomsticks, and five owls packed away in two magically expanded cars. At ten o'clock they all lined up to kiss Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur goodbye, promising to write, before filing into their assigned cars.

The family walked onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters in a massive clump, attracting several stares and whispers as they did so. Dominique and Molly kissed their parents and hurried away almost as soon as they approached the train, saying something about catching up with friends and Molly rambling about a prefects meeting. Uncle Percy detached himself from the group soon after, saying he had to get to his post at the front of the train to check that incoming broomsticks met ministry regulations. He gave Lucy a kiss and hugged his remaining nieces and nephews before striding away briskly, straightening his tie.

James left next, giving each of his parents a hug and dropping a kiss on his younger sister's head before bounding away. Fred and Roxanne departed soon after, leaving Rose, Albus, and Lucy with the adults and Louis, who was starting school that year and was currently in danger of being suffocated by his mother as Aunt Fleur sobbed into his shirt.

"'e eez my baby," she sniffled, dabbing a handkerchief to her glistening face, which somehow remained beautiful even when tear-stained and puffy. She swept her hair out of her eyes and clutched at her eleven-year-old son. "My last baby eez leaving."

"Dear, it's alright," Uncle Bill said, taking his wife by the elbow and gently prying her off their son. "You weren't this upset when the girls went."

"We always 'ad one at 'ome," Fleur choked out. Rose felt a pang of sympathy for her aunt, who looked equal parts sorrowful and confused as she gazed at her small son, as though she wasn't sure how it was possible he was leaving.

"I'll write home, Mama," Louis chirped, glancing nervously towards the train. "I'll write every night."

"And we'll be with him, Aunt Fleur," Lucy said, putting an arm around Louis. "We won't let anything happen to him."

"See?" Uncle Bill said, nodding thankfully at Lucy and wrapping an arm around Aunt Fleur's waist. "He's going to be fine."

"They do need to be getting on the train soon, though," Rose's mum said, checking her watch nervously. She shot a small smile in Rose's direction and then put a comforting hand on Aunt Fleur's shoulder. "I know it's difficult. I'm sure I'll be just as bad next year when Hugo goes."

"You better not be," Rose's dad said, his face contorted in horror as he looked between his wife and sniffling sister-in-law.

"Ron!" Aunt Ginny hissed, smacking him in the shoulder.

"I think it's time to say goodbye," Uncle Harry said, putting a hand on Aunt Ginny's arm and raising his eyebrow at Ron. "That way the kids have enough time to get on the train and find seats, yeah?"

"I agree," Hermione said, giving her husband a pointed look. She bent down and wrapped Rose in a hug. "Have a good term, Rosie," she said quietly. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Mum," Rose said.

"Bye, Rosie," Hugo said, making a show of stooping down to hug her. Rose scowled and hugged him back with decidedly less enthusiasm.

"Bye, Hugh," she muttered.

Hugo smiled proudly and let go of her. Rose's dad came up happily and wrapped his arms around his daughter, tugging at the ends of her hair affectionately.

"Saved the best for last, did you?" he said.

"Of course," Rose answered, smiling to herself.

"Make sure you write to us," Ron said. "I want to see Aslan at the house at least once a week, understand?"

"Yup," Rose nodded. "You'll see him a lot, I promise."

"Have fun this year, Rosie. Don't brew any illegal potions in a bathroom, like your mother did when we were in school."

" _Ron!_ " Hermione cried indignantly. "For heaven's sake, don't tell them that!"

"What?" Rose's dad shrugged, releasing his daughter and grinning at his wife. "You really did brew an illegal potion in a girl's loo and honestly—"

"That's not the point—oh! This isn't the time!" Hermione sputtered, her face going red as she turned to her daughter, niece and nephews, who were all looking at her curiously. "I think it's a good time for you lot to get on the train."

Rose hugged her aunts and uncles goodbye and stepped onto the Hogwarts Express behind Albus. She looked over her shoulder and caught her dad's eye; he winked and grinned before Uncle Harry slammed the door shut.

"Should we go find the compartment?" Albus asked after the echoing sound of the door closing had died away. He took hold of Louis' hand and peered down the corridor.

"D'ya reckon it's the same one as last year?" Rose asked, starting down the hallway in search of the family compartment.

"I dunno," Albus shrugged. "Even if it is, I don't know if I remember where it was last year."

"I think it's in this car," Lucy said, peering through compartment doors as they meandered down the corridor. About halfway down she paused in front of a door and looked around at her cousins.

"Is that them?" Rose asked, standing on her toes and peering around Lucy to try and make out the people inside the compartment. "It doesn't look like there's many people in there."

"It's Nathan and Scorpius," Lucy said, reaching a hand out to open the compartment door.

"Oh," Rose muttered. She wanted to tell Lucy not to open the door, to keep going until they found the rest of their family. Although she wouldn't mind seeing Nathan and hearing about his summer, seeing Scorpius so early into the term was not something Rose wanted to do. He always managed to either make her feel exceedingly angry or guilty.

"Excellent," Albus said from behind Rose, pulling Louis forward and maneuvering around Lucy to open the door with gusto, not sparing a second to think about whether Rose would want to see everyone in the compartment.

The two boys looked up curiously when the door slid open. Nathan sat closest to the door, with Scorpius across from him, leaning against the window. Both grinned when they saw Albus.

"How're you, mate?" Nathan asked amiably, sliding over to make room.

"We're just stopping by," Albus said, gesturing towards his cousins. "Wanted to see how you lot are doing."

"Not bad," Nathan answered, his eyes swiveling up towards Lucy and Rose before landing on Louis, who had been trying to half hide behind Albus. "What's your name?" Nathan asked kindly, smiling at the younger Weasley cousin.

"Louis," the first year replied quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Louis," Nathan said, extending a hand which Louis shook uncertainly. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around, Al and I are together a fair bit."

Louis nodded and dropped his eyes to the floor. At this Nathan turned his gaze to Rose and Lucy. "How're you two doing?" he asked pleasantly. "Good holidays?"

Both girls nodded and murmured affirmations.

"Fantastic," Lucy said, tugging at the ends of her hair nervously as her cheeks turned pink. "I'm sorry I never got a chance to write to you."

"Don't worry about it," Nathan shrugged. "You can tell me all about it in the library some evening."

"R-right," Lucy stammered, shifting her gaze quickly to the other boy. "Scorpius, how are you?"

Scorpius shifted in his seat and looked down at the table. After a few seconds he looked up at the cousins, his gaze sweeping over each of their faces. His grey eyes latched onto Rose's momentarily and she raised her eyebrows, staring at him until he looked away. "It was alright," he said quietly. "I'm glad to be back, though."

"Second year should be a fun one," Albus said. "And we can try out for quidditch! Have you lot brought your brooms? Rose and I both have."

All three boys nodded their heads. "Although," Nathan said, "I don't think I'm going to be trying out for the house team."

"Why not?" Rose asked, perking up at the mention of quidditch. "I mean, I asked Dom over the summer and she said that for all four teams there's a good chance most of the current players were going to be let back on, but you never know. And I didn't know you played, which position do you prefer? What broom do you have? We can practice together sometime, if you'd like; Dom and I usually spend a bit of time on the pitch every evening after dinner."

"Slow down there," Nathan laughed. "I usually play keeper, though I need a bit more practice. I don't think I'm quite good enough to play for Slytherin yet. But Scorp and I play together a lot. He's a chaser."

"I didn't know you played quidditch," Rose said, turning to Scorpius in surprise, quidditch trumping her desire to not interact with him.

He nodded, not bothering to respond.

"Do you always play chaser?" Rose asked, her voice laced with irritation at his lack of response.

Again he nodded, still without saying a word.

Rose gritted her teeth and turned away from the mute. "We'd best be going," she said to Albus and Lucy, fighting to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She turned and smiled at Nathan as she stepped out of the compartment. "It was brilliant to see you."

"We'll catch up later," Lucy said.

"See you lot at the castle, then," Nathan said warmly, waving as they closed the compartment door and continued down the corridor.

"You should be nicer to Scorpius," Lucy said pointedly to Rose.

"Me?" Rose cried, flushing indignantly. "I _was_ nice to him, he just doesn't bloody talk to me!"

"You don't help things," Lucy said loftily, taking Louis by the elbow and leading the way down the corridor. Rose followed, fuming.

They found the Weasley-Potter compartment quickly and shuffled inside. Louis climbed over the cousins to sit beside Dom, who was next to the window and gabbing away with Molly about the Hufflepuff quidditch captain.

The three second years squeezed in, closing the compartment door with some difficulty. The compartment was just as crowded as it had been the year before, with Louis filling the seat previously occupied by Vic. Rose found herself squashed between Fred and Albus, half sitting on both boys. Her annoyance at Lucy's comments dissipated as she glanced around the compartment, overwhelmingly happy to be once again surrounded by her family.

"Excited to be going back?" James asked loudly, elbowing Lucy, who sat next to him and pulling on her ponytail. "You won't be ickle firsties anymore."

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Isn't second year supposed to be rather difficult?"

"All the years are difficult, Luce," Dom said wryly, looking up from her conversation with Molly and wrinkling her nose. "It never gets easier."

"But it does get more interesting," Molly added with a smile.

Dom snorted and rolled her eyes. "And that's why they made you prefect," she grumbled. "Because you find school interesting."

"Are you saying you don't find ancient runes fascinating?" Molly challenged, raising her eyebrows. "Because you talked my ear off for at least forty five minutes yesterday about how excited you were for N.E.W.T. level runes—"

"Alright," Dominique snapped, tossing her hair. "So I'm a bit excited for runes."

"You really like ancient runes?" Roxanne asked earnestly, turning to look at Dom. "Do you think you'll try to work at Gringott's like your dad, then? I heard him say once that anyone who likes runes should look into working there."

Dom flushed and looked down. "Er, I was thinking about it, yeah," she said off-handedly. "Being a curse-breaker would be really exciting and—I don't know."

"Well I want to be an auror like Vic," James broke in, puffing his chest out as everyone turned their attention towards him. "I wanna catch dark wizards like my dad."

"What do you want to do, Molly?" Roxanne asked, rolling her eyes as James pretended to brandish a sword.

"I'm not sure yet," Molly replied. "I know Dad would love it if I worked for the ministry like him, but I got to talk to some healers from St. Mungo's last year during career advising, and it sounded very interesting."

"It'd be nice to have a healer in the family," Roxanne laughed. "We need someone to patch us all up when we get into trouble."

"Yes, there is something rather noble about healing others, isn't there?" Molly mused. "I don't know, though, I'll have to discuss it some more with Professor Flitwick and the St. Mungo's representatives. You know, I envy you sometimes, Roxie. You and Fred already know you're going to work at the store after school, you don't have to worry so much about grades and meeting recruiters and having an impressive resume."

"Yeah, it's brilliant," Roxanne said happily, leaning back with a smile and glancing at her older brother, whose face was rather blank. "Dad's excited for Fred and I to join him, he never stops talking about how when we were little and Fred and I would try to work the cash register and direct customers to our favorite products."

Rose turned in her seat and looked up at Fred, who had a tight smile on his face. She furrowed her brow and put a hand nervously on his arm. He looked down at her, his brown eyes immediately crinkling into a genuine smile as he slid an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, it'll be fun working with Dad and Uncle Ron," he said loudly, squeezing Rose's arm. "And maybe if we're lucky Rosie here will decide to join us."

Everyone laughed and the conversation turned to Louis and how he was feeling about going to school. When that was done and James had given Louis the obligatory "Sorting Scare" they settled down into listening to Dominique retell the story of her dad's reaction when he heard Victoire was moving in with Teddy.

"I won't stand for this!" she bellowed, twisting her face into a snarl and pounding her fists on the table as Uncle Bill did when he was especially angry. "I will not stand for it, no no no!"

They dissolved into peals of laughter as Dom continued to shout, waving her hands about madly.

"Oh, it was fantastic," she breathed at the end, wiping away a tear. "I wish you all had been there. Of course, once he calmed down and thought about it rationally he wasn't so angry, just a bit sad. I think he and mum were hoping Vic would wait a few years before moving in with Ted but it's not like they didn't see it coming."

"I think we all saw it coming," Molly said.

"I didn't!" James exclaimed. "I didn't even know until Al said something about it."

"You didn't even know they were together until you saw them snogging at the station last year," Dominique said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Did you know before that?" James sputtered.

"Obviously," Dom answered. "They'd been flirting atrociously all summer, it was disgusting. I'm surprised more people didn't figure it out sooner."

James opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish. He ran an agitated hand through his hair as he sat back.

"Well, everyone knows now," Molly said briskly. "And, more importantly, nobody objects."

Beside Rose, Fred snorted. "Of course nobody objects," he said. "Vic could break Teddy in half if she wanted to and everybody knows it."

Molly's face twisted in a smile and Dominique let out a chuckle.

"I suppose you're right," Molly said. "Teddy is a bit—"

"Soft?" Fred supplied. "I don't think he could kill a bug."

"He can't," Dom laughed. "He takes them outside and releases them, says every living thing deserves a second chance."

Fred shook his head good-naturedly and squeezed Rose's shoulder. She grinned and leaned back as the train rumbled through the countryside.

When they pulled into Hogsmeade Station the cousins all filed out of the compartment. Dom kept a hand on Louis' shoulder as they exited the train, pointing towards Hagrid, who was bellowing for first years. Louis' eyes widened and he immediately turned back to his older sister, whispering frantically. Dom bent over and murmured something in her brother's ear before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and nudging him towards the boats.

Louis was halfway to the boats when he paused and looked over his shoulder. Rose caught his eye and gave him an encouraging smile, remembering how frightened she had been the year before. And Louis didn't have Albus and Lucy with him as she had. Her heart went out to her younger cousin as she flashed him a thumbs up. Louis offered a weak smile and continued down to the boats.

"I hope he's alright," Dom fretted as the rest of the cousins meandered over to the carriages. "He's all alone."

"He'll be alright," Molly said, putting an arm around Dom. "We should hurry if we want to get a carriage together, though."

They walked across the grass to a line of horseless carriages. While most of the front ones were already full of students, the ones towards the back remained empty.

"Here," James said, tugging Lucy's sleeve to direct her towards the end of the line and helping her into one of the carriages. "Fred and Rose, you guys can join us in this one, Al and Roxie you two go with Dom and Molly."

They split up accordingly. After James and Lucy were seated Fred helped Rose into the carriage and then climbed in himself. He sat next to Rose and put his arm around her shoulder, grinning at her as the carriages began to roll forward.

"How are they doing that?" Lucy demanded from beside James, whipping around the see the front of their carriage, which still had no horse pulling it. "Are they enchanted?"

"Nah," Fred assured her. "They're pulled by thestrals, I read about them. Most people can't see them."

Lucy's eyes widened slightly and she turned back around and leaned against her seat. "They're not—" she began nervously, her eyes flitting from James to Fred, "they're not dangerous, are they?"

"Luce, do you really think the school would employ dangerous animals to pull the carriages?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know!" she cried defensively. "They keep all kinds of dangerous things in the Forbidden Forest!"

"Yeah, but that's forbidden," Fred pointed out. "Don't worry, Lucy, thestrals aren't anything to be afraid of. Hagrid can tell you all about them sometime if you want."

At the mention of Hagrid Lucy's eyes doubled in size and Fred seemed to immediately realize his error. "No, no," he said quickly. "I know Hagrid likes a lot of dangerous things, Luce, but honestly, thestrals aren't anything to worry about. Really, nothing's going to happen."

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Positive," Fred said, reaching across the carriage and squeezing her knee. "And if anything were to happen James and I would fight them off for you."

"Absolutely," James said enthusiastically, grinning at his cousin and ruffling her hair affectionately. "We are Gryffindors after all, we must defend our cousins and our honor!"

Lucy giggled and relaxed, though for the remainder of the ride she turned around every few seconds to check the carriages remained horseless.

The carriages rolled up to the front of the school and Fred got out first, helping Rose down and then moving aside for James to step out and help Lucy. Together, the four of them met up with the other cousins and they all entered the castle together.

Rose smiled as she walked through the large oak doors. She remembered all too well her anxiety at this time last year, and how intimidating the front doors had seemed. Now they looked inviting, beckoning her in to reclaim her spot in the school.

She walked through the Entrance Hall with her cousins. When they reached the Great Hall she waved goodbye to the four non-Ravenclaws and made her way to her house table, arm in arm with Lucy. They reached the Ravenclaw table, where they quickly found their roommates Maren Thomas and Allie Boot and sat down amid the cries of 'hello!'

Molly and Dom sat near them and Rose realized for the first time that Dom was now the oldest Weasley cousin at Hogwarts. It was strange, sitting down for dinner and not seeing Victoire anywhere. Dom seemed to be having similar thoughts as she looked around expectantly before biting her lip and folding her hands in her lap.

The sorting began. Rose watched anxiously as nervous eleven-year-olds walked on wobbly legs to the three-legged stool and tried on the sorting hat. Louis was second to last in line, his strawberry blond head tilted towards the floor. The bit of his face that Rose could see looked slightly green.

"Oh, I hope he's in Ravenclaw," Dom said, twisting a piece of hair around her finger and staring at her younger brother.

"He'll be okay no matter where he is," Molly said reassuringly, putting an arm around Dom's shoulders.

"I know, but I would feel much better if he was with us," Dom replied, her mouth twisting in worry as she continued to twirl her hair. "I know even if he is in Gryffindor the others will look after him, but it just won't be the same."

Nobody had an answer to that and they watched silently as the line of first years dwindled. They clapped whenever someone was sorted into Ravenclaw and cheered when Simon Longbottom, Uncle Neville's son and an honorary Weasley cousin, was sorted into Hufflepuff. Rose glanced at the staff table and saw Uncle Neville on his feet and clapping heartily, a large grin spreading over his face.

At last there were only two first years left to be sorted and Professor McGonagall called "Weasley, Louis." Rose watched as her cousin walked over to the stool and sat down. The sorting hat was dropped on his head and the four Weasleys held their breath as the rip near the brim opened wide and the hat screamed, "Hufflepuff!"

The hall erupted in cheers and Dominique's face fell slightly before she hastily rearranged it into a smile and stood up to cheer for her brother. The others followed suit, jumping to their feet and cheering as Louis walked slowly to the Hufflepuff table, looking slightly dazed.

"Now we really do have a Weasley in every house at Hogwarts," Lucy said when they sat back down.

"I suppose we do," Dom said. She still looked a bit disappointed, but a small smile crept onto her face as she watched Louis sit next to Simon Longbottom and begin talking. "At least the Hufflepuffs are a nice lot," she said. "And he'll have Simon there with him."

As Professor McGonagall put away the stool and the hat, Dominique got to her feet and hurried to the Hufflepuff table. Louis turned to greet his older sister as she approached and Dom bent down to give him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. Louis' face split into a grin as he wrapped his arm around his sister. Rose smiled to herself, thinking that her French cousins really looked like the epitome of sibling love at the moment.

Professor McGonagall reached her spot at the front of the staff table and Dominique gave her brother one last kiss and hurrying back to her seat as the headmistress began her speech.

The feast went by merrily and everyone stuffed themselves with food. When finally the desserts disappeared from the table and Professor McGonagall dismissed them all to their common rooms Rose and Lucy jumped to their feet to try and beat the crowd pushing its way out of the Great Hall.

Behind them Molly was standing up tall and calling out in her best imitation of Uncle Percy, "First years! First years follow me!"

"Let's go," Rose muttered, taking Lucy's arm and pushing through the crowd to the marble staircase. There they met Maren and Allie, who had left before them, and happily linked arms as they ascended the stairs.

"I can only live where there is light, but die when light shines on me. What am I?" the eagle knocker prompted the girls when they arrived outside Ravenclaw Tower.

"Er—" all four looked blankly at each other. Rose screwed up her face and furrowed her brow. Something that needed light to live—but died in light? What?

"The moon?" Allie guessed nervously.

"That is incorrect," the eagle knocker said. "Try again."

"Bullocks," Maren grumbled, crossing her arms. "We're rusty."

"What's the riddle?" A new voice asked. They turned and Scorpius had arrived at the tower, watching the stumped girls.

The eagle knocker repeated the riddle and Scorpius frowned thoughtfully.

"Ergh, I dunno," Maren groaned. "Could we ask for a different one?"

"A shadow," Scorpius said quietly, looking towards the knocker.

There was a click and the door swung open. "Well done," the eagle murmured. Maren, Allie and Lucy all smiled at Scorpius. Rose, too, felt the corners of her mouth curl up approvingly.

Scorpius' face had gone pink and he didn't look at the girls as he hurriedly pushed through the door into the common room.

"Thanks, Scorpius!" Allie said cheerfully.

"Mhm," he mumbled, making his way across the common room, not even bothering to turn around and acknowledge the praise properly. Rose rolled her eyes.

The four girls trooped up to their dormitory where their trunks were already in place. Rose bent down and retrieved her books, shrunken by her mother and packed away in the corner of her trunk.

"How many this year?" Lucy asked, eyeing the pile of small novels now lying on top of Rose's bed.

"Sixteen," Rose said, trying not to flush. It had seen a perfectly reasonable number when she had been packing at home. After all, she needed her _Chronicles of Narnia_ books, _Charlotte's Web_ , and her _Anne of Green Gables_ books. But now it seemed ridiculous to bring sixteen books to school, and even more ridiculous considering they were all muggle novels.

"Well you won't get bored," Lucy said, taking out her blue pajamas unfolding them carefully. "Are you going to get Dom to enlarge them?"

"I suppose so," Rose replied. "Since Vic isn't here."

"That still seems so strange," Lucy mused, now taking out a hairbrush and releasing her red hair from its ponytail. "It doesn't seem right to be here and not see Vic."

"In a few years Dom won't be here either," Rose said as Lucy began to comb her hair. "And soon Molly won't be either."

"It seems like it's all going so fast, doesn't it?" Lucy asked, sighing wistfully. "It seems like just yesterday we were all playing together at the Burrow and now we're wondering about jobs we'll have after school."

"Geez, Luce," Rose laughed, putting an arm around her cousin and squeezing her. "You make it sound like we're ancient. We're only second years!"

"I know," Lucy sighed. "It's just a bit scary, that's all."

"We still have six years here," Rose said. "And no matter what we'll always have each other here, yeah?"

"Of course," Lucy smiled. "And Al."

Rose rolled her eyes dramatically and released Lucy. "That is if he doesn't forget all about us by the time we leave school."

"Rosie!" Lucy exclaimed. "Don't say that, you know he won't! Just because he's not in Ravenclaw—"

"I'm kidding, Luce," Rose said, putting a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "I know he won't forget about us. I'm gonna go find Dom and ask her to enlarge my books for me, I'll be right back."

Lucy nodded and Rose traipsed out of the dormitory. She descended the spiral staircase and poked her head in the sixth year dormitory to find it empty. Rose sighed and made her way to the common room, where she found Dom sitting in an armchair writing a letter. A strange sense of déjà vu overcame Rose as she remembered finding Vic in nearly the exact same spot the year before. With a smile she wandered over to her cousin, poking her head over her shoulder.

"Who're you writing to?" she asked.

"My mum," Dominique said, showing no surprise at Rose's presence. "Telling her about Louis' sorting and the feast."

"D'you think your parents will mind him not being in Ravenclaw?" Rose asked.

"No," Dom shook her head, smiling. "They'll be pleased. And really, once you think about it, Louis is an ideal Hufflepuff."

Rose grinned and nodded her head in agreement. Her younger cousin did have some very Hufflepuff-like traits, which Rose suspected was because Louis had idolized Teddy Lupin for years, and copied everything the older boy did. But even beyond that, the two of them both radiated kindness, always making sure everyone was included in family games and nobody was being picked on unfairly.

"Do you need me to enlarge your books for you?" Dom asked with a smile, folding up her parchment and capping her ink bottle.

"Er, yeah," Rose mumbled, a bit unnerved that Dom had so easily guessed her reason for coming downstairs.

"Let's go, then," Dom said, rising from the armchair and striding towards the spiral staircase. Rose followed her to the second year dormitory, where Lucy stood next to Rose's bed.

Dom walked over to the pile of books and waved her wand, so the pile grew as the novels expanded back to their original sizes.

"Thanks, Dom," Rose said, picking the books up and stacking them beside her bed.

"Need anything else?" the blonde asked.

Rose opened her mouth to say no, but before she could Lucy murmured, "Vic read to us last year."

Dom's eyebrows flew up but her mouth curled into a smile as she looked from the book pile to her younger cousins. "I'm sure she did," she said with a laugh, taking a seat on Rose's bed. "I suppose I'll read with you too, then, since Vic isn't here. What'll it be?"

Rose, still bent over her stack of books, looked expectantly at Lucy, who merely shrugged as if to say _it's up to you._ With a toss of her hair Rose selected _Charlotte's Web_ , one of her old favorites, and crawled onto her bed beside Dom and Lucy.


	5. Chapter 5

Second year began much like first year. Rose took all the same classes and found to her relief that they were no more difficult than last year and she was able to get away with doing just as little work. She and Lucy continued their tradition of working with Albus and Nathan in the library every other evening and Rose always looked forward to spending time with her cousin and his friend. To make things even better, Scorpius Malfoy had so far refrained from accompanying them so she had not had to deal with his animosity outside the classroom.

To Rose's embarrassment she ran into Lysander Scamander on the second day of classes. He grinned and hugged her, apparently not noticing her scarlet face and senseless babbling as she tripped over her own foot and scurried away to charms.

The first two weeks passed by in a haze of renewed responsibility and waning summertime warmth. Rose found herself staying up in the common room hurrying to finish assignments nearly every night, but it was worth it because she spent nearly every afternoon on the quidditch pitch with Fred or Dom practicing her keeping skills. Dom, the Ravenclaw quidditch captain, had scheduled tryouts for the last weekend in September. Rose worked tirelessly, determined to make the team, although Dom had already warned her that it would be difficult, as every member of last year's team was still in school and would be intent on keeping their spots. Rose shrugged this off and talked ceaselessly to Lucy about quidditch prospects, until her usually soft-spoken cousin threatened to test out a bat-bogey hex if Rose didn't shut up about the ruddy sport.

At last the day arrived and Rose trooped down to the pitch after breakfast with her Nimbus 3500 on her shoulder and her stomach in knots. Once there, she stood by Dom and looked around with wide eyes at the large crowd who had shown up to compete for a spot on the house team.

"Bloody hell," Rose whispered.

"It's mad, isn't it?" A voice said beside her. Rose whipped around and saw Maren Thomas standing beside her, a Comet 700 in her hand. On Maren's other side stood Scorpius Malfoy, clutching a Nimbus and staring at the ground, not acknowledging Rose.

"Good morning, everyone!" Dominique called, her voice magically magnified. The crowd quieted and all turned their attention to Dom, who was glancing around with narrowed eyes, sizing up the prospective players. "Right," she said authoritatively. "First of all, if you're here then you're trying out for the Ravenclaw quidditch team. So if any of you aren't seriously interested in playing, if you're just looking for an excuse to fly around a bit, or if you're not in Ravenclaw, just do me a favor and clear out now instead of wasting everyone's time."

She paused and looked around with raised eyebrows. Two or three giggling students, who Rose didn't recognize, turned to each other and then hurried away, laughing raucously as they went. Dominique watched them go for a minute and then shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Bloody Gryffindor wankers," she muttered, apparently forgetting her voice was still magnified as she immediately flushed and straightened up. "Well," she said quickly, quelling the titters from the crowd with a glare. "I'm assuming the rest of you are all Ravenclaws then. For any of you who don't know, we do not have any vacant positions right now, as all last year's players are returning. But, these tryouts are to make sure that we have the best possible players representing Ravenclaw on the pitch. So everyone know, whether you were on the team last year or not, your spot on the team will be decided based on your performance today. Is that clear?"

There was a round of murmured assent and Dom smiled.

"Lovely," she said. "Well, to begin we're going to take two laps around the pitch. If at any point you can't keep up or need to stop for any reason, just descend and head on back to the castle. If anyone needs medical assistance, my cousin Molly is near the stands and will take care of you."

Rose turned in surprise to see Molly, sure enough, standing at the edge of the pitch with a book. She caught Rose's eye and smiled, flashing a thumbs up.

"Ready?" Dominique called.

Rose hastily returned her attention to her cousin and swung a leg over her broom, preparing to kick off.

"And…everybody up!"

Two hours later found Rose on her broom in front of the goal posts, sweaty and out of breath, but excited. The pool of potential players had dwindled down to twenty, and she was one of them, along with Maren and Scorpius. After the two laps around the pitch, which had eliminated a dozen or so would-be quidditch players, Dom put everyone through nearly an hour of drills before finally sorting them according to position and running trials for each. There were ten potential chasers, including Maren and Scorpius, seven beaters, and three keepers. Rose looked to her left and right at the other two. One was Nicholas Ferntail, last year's keeper who was a seventh year and so far was ahead of Rose by one goal, having saved six in comparison to her five. The other was Milo Remington, a fourth year who had nearly fallen off his broom at one point but was only trailing Rose by one goal.

They were down to the last few minutes of tryouts. Dom called for everyone's attention and asked for six of the chaser hopefuls to line up by the goal posts. They complied, with Maren and Scorpius both in the queue.

Dom shouted that each keeper would have two goals attempted on them. Their current standings had Nick saving six out of six, Rose saving five out of six, and Milo saving four out of six. After this drill whoever had the best record would win the spot.

Nick went first. Rose and Milo both flew to the side of the goals so they were out of the way and hovered, watching intently. One of last year's chasers zoomed towards Nick, the quaffle held safely under his arm. Nick floated in front of the center hoop, his knuckles white from gripping his broom handle so tightly. The chaser moved infinitesimally to the left before launching the quaffle towards the center hoop. One of Nick's hands shot up off his broom handle as he turned so he was hovering vertically in the air, reaching up over his head and snatching the red ball, grinning triumphantly at the chaser.

"Very good," Dom called, nodding her head. "Ferntail is seven for seven. Rose, you're up."

Shaking violently, Rose flew in front of the hoops. Nick passed her and gave her an encouraging smile before mouthing "Good luck." Rose tried to smile back but it came out as more of a grimace.

When she was positioned in front of the center hoop Rose sucked in a deep breath, willing herself not to look down. Her stomach tied itself in knots as she looked out towards the chaser whose job it was to score on her. She prayed it wasn't Scorpius.

It wasn't. A burly fifth year who Rose had seen occasionally in the common room held the quaffle in his hand, flying leisurely towards her. Rose gripped the handle of her Nimbus and narrowed her eyes, her head clearing as she focused on the approaching chaser. What was it her dad always said? The secret to keeping was to just watch your opponent. Their face would give them away ninety percent of the time.

The fifth year flew closer, zig zagging across the pitch and picking up speed as he went. Rose kept her eyes trained on his face, watching as his gaze flitted from the right post to the left. His nose twitched. His bottom lip curled back and snagged under one of his front teeth. His eyes landed on the hoop to Rose's left and stayed there for a moment, as he flew to the right.

Rose shifted her body to the left as discreetly as she could and waited. Her body buzzed as the chaser came nearer. She felt her heart pound in her chest—any moment now.

The chaser moved to the left at the last second and threw the quaffle. As soon as it left his hand Rose leaned to the left and felt her broom move with her, carrying her to the quaffle, which she grabbed easily. Her mouth split into a triumphant grin as she turned to the line of chasers.

"Great job, Rose!" Maren, who was next up in line, called.

"Thanks!" Rose replied as she tossed the quaffle across the pitch to her roommate. She flew back to the side, where Nick Ferntail was hovering, looking rather impressed.

"That was damn good, Weasley," he said.

Rose smiled and turned to watch Milo, who didn't manage to save Maren's goal. Dom shook her head sympathetically and suggested they go in reverse order for the second try, so Milo could get his over with. A small fourth year girl got the quaffle past him that time and Milo returned to the ground looking thoroughly dejected.

"Just you and me, Weasley," Nick said with a grin, patting Rose on the shoulder. "Best of luck."

Rose nodded and then realized with a start it was her turn now. If she made this save and Nick missed his, they'd be tied.

A seventh year girl held the quaffle as Rose took her place in front of the hoops. She swallowed her nerves and focused on the girl's face as she flew. Unlike the fifth year boy, this girl didn't go in a zig zag pattern, but rather flew straight at Rose, her eyes narrowed in determination.

Rose looked at the chaser's hands and saw them begin to turn, ever so slightly, to the right. The girl continued to hurtle towards her and when she was within scoring distance Rose leaned over and shot to the right at the exact moment the quaffle left the girl's hand. Out of the corner of her eye Rose could see the girl's shocked expression and she grinned to herself, leaning forward as she scooped the quaffle out of the air.

"Excellent, Rosie!" Dom cried, forgetting to appear unbiased for a moment as she flew over and ruffled her cousin's hair.

Rose flushed and grinned, handing Dom the quaffle and flying back to the hoops. "Good luck!" she called to Ferntail, feeling much lighter and friendlier now that she had successfully saved the goal.

Nick grinned and took his place in front of the hoops. Rose turned to see which chaser would be attempting to score on him and saw that it was Scorpius who held the quaffle.

Nick swayed on his broom slightly, watching Scorpius as the blond flew towards the hoops, weaving through the air with ease. Rose watched as Scorpius flew to the right, then turned sharply and threw the quaffle towards the left hoop. Nick, who had moved to the right a second ago, shot across the air and leaned over the edge of his broom towards the red ball. For a moment Rose thought he was going to fall but a moment later Nick straightened up, his face shining with sweat and satisfaction as he held up the quaffle.

"Alright," Dom called, smiling. "That's that, then, Nick you're back on the team. Rosie, great job today," she gave Rose a sympathetic smile, "maybe next year."

Rose nodded, feeling a lump rise in her throat and tears well up in her eyes as she pointed her broom towards the ground descended.

She hadn't made it.

All those hours spent outside with her dad and Aunt Ginny, all those evenings she had passed with Al discussing strategies. All the times she had hung on to her dad and Uncle Harry's stories about their time on the Gryffindor quidditch team. All for nothing.

She vaguely heard Dom calling out the final decisions for chasers and beaters but Rose didn't care. Red curls that had come loose from her ponytail whipped around her face and Rose's feet touched down on the ground just as her vision began to blur. She stood still for a moment and let the tears pour down her cheeks until a hand tentatively touched her shoulder.

"Hey," Maren said, giving her a small smile and wrapping her arm around Rose's shoulder. "It's alright. Scorpius and I didn't make it either. We'll all try out again next year, though, and make the team then, yeah?"

"Mhm," Rose mumbled in a wobbly voice, pushing one of her filthy sleeves around her face to try and soak up the embarrassing tears.

"We'll use this year to practice," Maren said reassuringly.

Rose nodded and dropped her head again, staring at the ground until Dom's voice came from behind her. "Rosie?"

Maren's arm left Rose's shoulder and was replaced by Dom's, as she wrapped Rose in a hug. "I'm sorry, Rosie, I know you wanted to be on the team."

"S'alright," Rose muttered into her cousin's shoulder. "He was better."

"And hey," Dom said, pulling away and tilting Rose's chin up, "we'll practice this year and over holidays so that next year, when Nick's graduated, you'll be the best damn keeper in the school, alright?"

"Okay," Rose said in a thick voice, trying and failing to smile.

"Let's get back up to the castle then," Dom said, nudging Rose forward.

They walked across the pitch and to the walkway, where Molly joined them and offered Rose a sympathetic hug. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart," she said in a voice that sounded eerily like Grandma Molly's, "you're only a second year and you were in the top two. In a year or two you'll be on the team and the best keeper at Hogwarts."

Rose managed a genuine, if small, smile at this and put an arm around each of her cousins.

"Maren said she'd practice with me too," she said.

"Good," Dom replied, tucking a piece of hair behind Rose's ear. "So I'll have a good chaser and keeper next year."

They walked back to the castle, arms around each other. About halfway there Rose realized she knew the voices coming from behind her. She turned to see Scorpius and Maren in the middle of a conversation, both sweaty and dirty from hours of playing.

"We'll make it next year," Maren said enthusiastically, grinning.

Scorpius nodded. "I hope so," he said. "Would—would you want to practice with me sometime? It'd help if I had someone other than Nathan to play with."

"Of course!" Maren exclaimed. "This is perfect, usually I have to try and make Allie play with me and she's absolutely dreadful—"

Rose turned back around, the smile completely wiped from her face. She didn't know why, but suddenly tears were welling up in her eyes again. She swallowed heavily and blinked, clenching her jaw as she continued walking with her cousins. It didn't matter to her whether or not her classmates practiced without her. Not at all.

When they reached the castle and had made their way back to Ravenclaw Tower Rose detached herself from her cousins and took a long shower. She stood under the hot water and let it wash the sweat and grime from her skin as she cried freely one last time, grateful that the sound was masked by running water.

When her tears ran dry and her fingers resembled small white prunes Rose stepped out of the bathroom and dressed quickly, toweling her hair off and letting it dry in a wild, knotty red mess as she collapsed on her bed.

"Do you want me to braid it for you?" Lucy's voice asked quietly from the adjacent bed.

Rose started. She had thought she was alone in the dormitory. She stayed still for a moment and then nodded her head against the mattress, hoping that was enough of an answer.

She heard the creak of mattress springs and then a soft thud as Lucy's bare feet hit the floor of the dormitory and padded across the carpet.

"You know you have to sit up for me to braid your hair, Rosie," Lucy said softly as she climbed onto Rose's bed.

With a groan Rose sat up and sat cross-legged on her bed. Without a word Lucy moved behind her and set to work brushing the knots out of Rose's hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as she brushed a section of hair, gently working out a tangle.

"No," Rose sighed. "Ferntail was just better than me."

"Dom said he only beat you by one save," Lucy said, throwing a lock of neatly brushed hair over Rose's shoulder and starting on another. "And he's a seventh year."

"He still beat me," Rose grumbled, trying to keep the whine out of her voice. "He's on the team and I'm not."

"Rosie," Lucy said slowly, tugging a particularly stubborn knot through the hairbrush. "You don't always have to be the best at everything, you know. It's alright if you have to wait a bit and actually work hard for things sometimes."

"I did work hard!" Rose cried, stung by her cousin's words. "I worked hard all last year and all bloody summer!"

"It's not the end of the world that you have to work a bit harder," Lucy said, finally managing to break through the tangle. "You know anyone else would have loved to make it to the final two, and against a seventh year no less."

"Well I'm not anyone else," Rose said grumpily.

"No you're not," Lucy agreed. "And that's just the problem, isn't it? You're Rose Weasley. You can do everything without even trying."

"That's not true," Rose argued, furrowing her brow. "I do try."

"Not as hard as everyone else has to," Lucy responded evenly, setting the brush down on the bed and dividing Rose's hair into sections. "Everything comes much easier to you than it does to other people."

"I'm still allowed to be upset," Rose said, crossing her arms in agitation.

"I never said you weren't," Lucy said as she pulled the sections of hair around each other. "Of course you're allowed to be upset. But it's not the end of the world, Rosie. You'll make the team next year for sure, since Ferntail is leaving this year, you have to know that. And in the meantime you can still practice with Dom and Fred."

"I suppose," Rose conceded, dropping her arms. "I just really thought I could make it this year."

"I know you did," Lucy said gently, tying off the end of the plait and patting Rose's hair affectionately. "But you're still one of the best quidditch players I know, Rose Minerva Weasley."

Rose smiled and turned around, wrapping her arms around Lucy and squeezing her. "Thanks, Luce," she said quietly.

"Anytime," Lucy replied, returning the embrace.

Rose and Lucy stayed in the dormitory until dinner. When it was time to eat, they walked into the Great Hall together, Rose feeling considerably lighter than she had earlier. They had just spotted Maren and Allie and headed over to the Ravenclaw table when someone slammed into Rose, nearly bowling her over.

"ImadetheteamI'mthenewseeker!" Albus' voice shouted in her ear as he lifted her up in a hug.

"What?" Rose asked, wiggling out of her cousin's arms to catch a glimpse of his face. Albus' mouth was stretched wide in a grin and his green eyes shone as he beamed at her, squeezing her tightly again and bobbing up and down with joy.

"I made the Slytherin quidditch team, Rosie! I'm the new seeker! Oh, Dad's gonna be so happy and now James and I are both on quidditch teams and this is the best day of my life!"

"O—oh," Rose choked out, her stomach dropping as she took in Albus' words. Hastily pasting a smile on her face, she wrapped her arms around him and let out a loud and somewhat forced, "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you, Al, that's wonderful!"

"I'm the new seeker!" he cried, sounding as though he couldn't quite believe it. "I'm the new Slytherin seeker!"

"So you said," Rose said, trying very hard to keep her face arranged in a smile as Albus' words hit her like a beater's bat in the stomach.

"And now we can play against each other in real school matches, though I suppose since I'm a seeker and you're keeper we won't be near each other all that much, but still, it'll be brilliant—"

"Er, what?" Rose asked, her head whipping up to look at Albus. "Al—"

"I overhead Dom saying you did brilliantly in tryouts!" he said, pulling Rose back in for a hug. "Oh, and our parents can come for matches too, and watch us play, I've already owled my mum and told her the news I'm sure she'll be thrilled—"

"Al—"

"Especially after all the time you two spent playing over the summer, and I'm sure your dad will be excited—"

"Albus Severus Potter!" Rose screeched, pulling away from him quickly and frowning, the tears from earlier threatening to make a reappearance. "Stop!" Rose cried, hoping she didn't look too pathetic.

Albus looked at her with an innocent, bewildered expression that made Rose want to shake him.

"I didn't make the team," Rose said quietly, tears burning behind her eyes.

Albus' eyes widened and his face crinkled in confusion. "What?" he asked dumbly.

"I. Didn't. Make. The. Team." Rose said through gritted teeth, looking down at her shoes and biting her lip. "Nick Ferntail is the Ravenclaw keeper."

"But—but Dom said—and you're—" Albus sputtered, looking around wildly.

"I did well in tryouts but Ferntail did better," Rose said in what she hoped was a level voice, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"I—oh, Merlin, I'm sorry, Rosie—"

"It's alright," Rose whispered, fighting back tears once again. "I just—can we not talk about it here?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Albus said quickly, flushing as he put an arm around Rose's shoulder and walked with her to the Ravenclaw table. When they arrived Rose slid into the seat Lucy had saved for her. Across the table, Scorpius looked up at Al's arrival and smiled.

"I heard you're the new Slytherin seeker," he said, standing up and extending a hand. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Albus said, returning the smile. "Dominique said you made a good show of it this morning at tryouts. Better luck next year, mate."

"Yeah," Scorpius said, with a small shrug. "I'll have to keep practicing. My dad'll be happy to hear I'm friends with the Slytherin seeker, at least."

"Your father was a seeker, wasn't he?" Rose asked, turning to look at him, unsure why she was trying to initiate conversation with Scorpius in the first place.

"Er," he glanced at her disdainfully, his tone much colder than it had been just a second ago. "Yes. He was."

"That's—" Rose began, but Albus cut her off.

"Anyways, I'm sure you'll make the team next year," he said warmly, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder and squeezing. "I'd best be off though. Rosie, Lucy, d'you want to meet in the library later to work on that transfiguration essay?"

"Sure," Lucy chirped.

Rose nodded, too busy eyeing Scorpius Malfoy to offer a verbal reply. The blond boy had turned back to his plate after the display of sportsmanship and had not looked up again. Resentment built up in Rose's chest and she thought she would like nothing more than to take out her wand and hex him, because he was perfectly nice to Albus, because he still wouldn't look up from his bloody plate and meet her eye, and because maybe if he had thrown the quaffle a little further to the left Nick Ferntail wouldn't have caught it and Rose would be the Ravenclaw keeper.

Albus walked away, still bouncing merrily and Rose deflated, the anger leaving her in a quick gush as she sighed heavily and looked away from Scorpius. She heaped mashed potatoes onto her plate and listened to Lucy talk animatedly about the new theory they were learning in charms. Scorpius didn't look in her direction for the remainder of the meal and Rose ignored him. It didn't bother her that Scorpius Malfoy was perfectly decent to everyone except her. It didn't.

* * *

Edited 1/26/17


	6. Chapter 6

Autumn at Hogwarts fluttered by as Rose and her classmates settled into the familiar school routine. Classes picked up and Rose found her pile of homework growing steadily, though she still managed to get away with doing as little work as possible, something which irritated Albus and Lucy to no end.

"This isn't bloody fair!" Albus burst out one evening in the library, throwing his quill down in frustration and glaring at Rose, who was folding a piece of parchment into an origami swan.

"What?" she asked, looking up in confusion.

Albus' scowl darkened and he brushed a piece of hair from his forehead. "How can you possibly be done with this essay?" he demanded, gesturing rather violently towards the parchment in front of him.

Rose shrugged and turned back to her paper bird. "It wasn't very difficult," she said off handedly. "I did it this morning in history of magic."

"You were supposed to be taking our notes!" Lucy cried next to her, whipping up and also glaring at Rose.

"I did take notes," Rose said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "But Binns talked about that bloody Goblin Rebellion of 1648 for nearly fifteen minutes and there's only so much information to write down for that."

"You did your essay in fifteen minutes?" Albus asked quickly, his expression melting from anger to mild admiration.

"It was probably less than fifteen minutes," Rose murmured, with a shrug. She tapped the paper bird with her wand so it turned blue, turning it around and eyeing her handiwork. "I did have to write down the dates and names for that goblin rebellion."

"You did the essay in less than fifteen minutes, then?" Albus asked, his eyebrows rising. He looked almost impressed.

Rose shrugged again and tapped the bird one more time with her wand so that it flew around them on its own accord. "It wasn't very difficult," she said, watching her paper bird soar across the table.

"Blimey," Nathan Nott said in awe, finally looking up from his notes and staring across the table at Rose with undisguised admiration. "I've been working on it for an hour and I'm not even halfway done."

Rose threw Nathan a grin, but caught Lucy frowning out of the corner of her eye. Not wishing to aggravate her cousin, Rose turned her attention back to her swan, which sailed gracefully above them.

"This is bullocks," Albus grumbled, picking up his quill and turning back to his parchment with a huff. "Why is everything so easy for you, Rosie? It's not fair."

"Not potions," Rose pointed out quickly, now directing the origami bird with her wand so it flew in figure eights around their heads. "I'm terrible at potions."

"You're only terrible at the practical bit and that's because you can't be bothered to read directions," Lucy said, turning a page of her charms textbook and rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Rose, if anyone else put as little work into school as you they would be failing right now, and somehow you're top of the class. I'm with Al on this one; it's not fair."

"You say that as though you're not right behind her, Lucy," Nathan chuckled, glancing up and catching Lucy's eye.

Lucy blushed and hurriedly looked back down at her book. "That's not true," she said. "Scorpius is right behind her."

"So then you're third," Nathan replied, raising an eyebrow. "Which is still very impressive."

Lucy's flush deepened and she tugged nervously at the ends of her hair but didn't look up. "I suppose I am," was all she said.

Nathan smiled at her for another moment and then returned to his homework. For a minute the only sound between the four second years was the scratching of quills and rustling of parchment. Rose continued to direct her paper swan around their corner of the library, grinning to herself as the bird swooped and ducked around the tables and chairs.

"I thought I'd find you here," the soft voice of Scorpius Malfoy interrupted.

Rose looked up and groaned to herself when she saw her housemate walking towards them, carrying his schoolbag.

"Hi, Scorp," Nathan greeted him, jumping up and pushing an extra chair in the space between him and Rose. Rose grimaced and watched as Scorpius eyed the chair between his friend and Rose as though he were afraid it would attack him. After a moment's hesitation he bit his lip and sank down, keeping his eyes on Nathan.

"How're you, Scorp?" Nathan asked, returning almost immediately to his essay. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"You saw me at breakfast this morning," Scorpius responded, pulling out his transfiguration book. "But I'm alright; I got a letter from home today."

"Anything interesting?" Nathan asked, looking up expectantly.

Scorpius shrugged. "Not really," he said. His silver eyes flitted towards Rose for a moment before he leaned forward added quietly, "But—my—er—my grandfather's ill."

"Oh," Nathan said, a strange expression crossing his face. He frowned at Scorpius. "I'm sorry, Scorp—"

"That's awful," Lucy said, leaning over Rose to pat Scorpius on the shoulder, her brown eyes wide with concern. "I'm so sorry."

Scorpius shrugged again and kept his eyes plastered on his textbook. "S'alright," he muttered, fidgeting with his quill. "I really don't know him that well."

"It's still terrible," Albus said, giving Scorpius a sympathetic look across the table. "Sorry about it, mate."

Rose could feel Albus and Lucy's eyes land on her expectantly and she bent down quickly, rummaging through her school bag. She wasn't good at being comforting with people she liked, let alone with aggravating boys who pretended she didn't exist. What in the world did they want her to say here?

At the other end of the table Lucy cleared her throat as Uncle Percy did when he was waiting for someone to speak.

Rose ignored her cousin and continued digging in her bag, finally pulling out a piece of parchment with her half-finished potions essay on it. That would work for a distraction.

Lucy cleared her throat once again and Rose looked down the table to see her cousin glaring at her. Rose scowled and Lucy jerked her head slightly as if to say _get on with it._ Rose folded her arms and pursed her lips. Lucy narrowed her eyes and sent Rose a glare that would have made Grandma Molly proud, taking out her wand and laying it on the table next to her book.

Rose sighed and uncrossed her arms, remembering that Lucy had mastered Aunt Ginny's infamous bat bogey hex over the summer. Admitting defeat, Rose took a deep breath and turned in her seat so she faced Scorpius. "Er," she said awkwardly, feeling her face heat up as he turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "That—that's—erm—too bad about your grandfather, Malfoy."

Scorpius' eyebrows raised infinitesimally and he stared at her as though unable to determine whether she was joking or not. Rose stared back, silently daring him to accuse her of taking the mick out of his ill grandfather.

After a moment Scorpius broke the stare, inclining his head slightly and mumbling something that sounded like "thank you" before burying his head in his transfiguration book.

Rose rolled her eyes and picked up her quill, rereading what she had already written of the essay. Across the table Lucy smiled approvingly and began asking Nathan questions about their charms homework. Scorpius kept his head bent over his transfiguration, not even sparing a glance in Rose's direction.

October flew by at an alarming rate. On the weekend of Halloween Rose joined the rest of her cousins at the first quidditch match of the year, which was Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff and Albus Potter's first school match. The cousins, even James, all wore green and shouted themselves hoarse, cheering wildly when Al edged out the Hufflepuff seeker and caught the snitch, securing a 210-90 victory for Slytherin. Rose ran up and hugged her cousin after the match, ignoring the bitterness gnawing at her and focusing instead on the dazed grin on Al's face. That night at dinner James and Fred managed to enchant every plate in the Great Hall to read in glowing letters: _Potter is the King,_ a suggestion of Uncle George's Rose had no doubt, much to their amusement and Al's mortification.

The last of autumn's residual warmth disappeared as November brought chilly winds and the promise of snow. It was now too cold to spend free afternoons on the grounds, even with mittens and a cloak, and so Rose found herself often curled up in an armchair with a book in front of the fireplace in the common room.

She was thus occupied one Saturday afternoon in the middle of November. The Ravenclaw common room was nearly deserted; there was a Hogsmeade visit that day and so most of the older students had gone to the village. Lucy, Allie and Maren had gone to the library to do schoolwork. They had invited Rose but she had waved them off, wanting to spend the afternoon flipping idly through _Anne's House of Dreams_ for the third time.

Rose tucked her feet underneath her legs and sank lower into the armchair, letting her head rest against the side. Her red hair spilled over the upholstery in a tangled mess and the jumper she wore, an oversized hand-me-down from James, fell almost to her knees. With a contented sigh she snuggled deeper into the soft, knitted wool and thumbed through her novel.

Rose read a few pages, smiling as she thought of Anne and Gilbert, and their beautiful love story and the lovely little world they lived in. She sat back and watched the fire for a moment, wondering vaguely if stories like Anne and Gilbert's could be found in real life, if one day she, Rose Weasley, would be walking into her very own house of dreams with the man she loved.

A crash echoed around the common room and jarred Rose from her thoughts. She whipped around to see a group of scared first years standing amid a mess of broken ceramic pieces. Rose furrowed her brow and began to stand up to ask what happened, when a movement in her peripheral vision made her stop.

Scorpius, who had been working silently at a small table on the other side of the common room, walked over to the first years and bent down over the ceramics, assessing the damage.

"Was this something important?" he asked quietly, looking up at one of the first years, a small girl with brown hair and glasses.

"N-no," she stammered, still staring nervously at the mess before her. "We—we were trying to make our own chess pieces. My dad sent me a kit and they'd just finished drying and we were bringing them back up to our room and Jessie tripped."

"I'm sorry!" squeaked a different little girl, who Rose guessed was Jessie.

"It's alright," Scorpius said, giving the girls a small smile. He took out his wand and waved it over the ceramic pieces, muttering an incantation. The shards rose and reassembled into chess pieces. Rose watched as Scorpius then took a handkerchief from his pocket and tapped it with his wand, transfiguring the cloth into a small bag. "Why don't you use this to carry them upstairs?" he said, handing the bag to the girls.

The first years thanked him and bent down to pack away their chess pieces. Scorpius nodded and stood up, walking slowly back to his table and sitting down without a word.

Rose sat back in her seat and watched the fire crackle as the first year girls moved up the spiral staircase. She peered over the side of the armchair and saw Scorpius bent once again over a thick textbook, absorbed in his work.

After a moment's hesitation, Rose stood up and walked over to the small table. Scorpius didn't look up as she approached. In fact, even when she stood less than a foot away from him he remained hunched over his textbook, not even glancing at her.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat.

His eyes flickered towards her, but otherwise he didn't move.

"Malfoy," she tried again.

This time he picked his head up. Moving stiffly, like a marionette, he turned to face her, his pale eyebrows shooting upwards.

"Er, that was nice what you did over there," Rose said, her face flushing. Why had she come over here again?

Slowly, he nodded his head, one eyebrow still raised warily. "Thank you, Weasley," he said coolly before returning to his work.

Rose stood there dumbly for a minute, her irritation rising at his cold dismissal. She opened her mouth to say something more, but Malfoy looked up again.

"Did you need anything else?" he asked, still watching her as though she might attack at any moment.

Rose gritted her teeth and forced out a curt "no," before turning on her heel and stalking back to her armchair. She sat down, seething inwardly.

The stupid, ugly, uptight, arrogant, entitled, self-centered…

She ran through every rude name in her arsenal, applying them to Scorpius Malfoy and imagined hexing him. This relieved a bit of her anger, and with a disgruntled sigh Rose picked up her book again. In a few minutes she forgot her annoyance as the Ravenclaw common room melted away into Anne Shirley's lovely, picturesque world where there was no Scorpius Malfoy to irritate her.

Nearly an hour passed before Rose was interrupted by a sharp pinch on her shoulder.

"Ow!" she yelped, jerking back and glaring up to find Lucy leaning over her shoulder.

"Sorry," Lucy shrugged. "I tried saying your name, but you didn't hear me."

"You didn't have to rip my skin off," Rose grumbled.

"Oh, stop being dramatic," Lucy said, rolling her eyes and hiking her bag up on her shoulder. "Anyways, the reason I was trying to get your attention is that Fred's waiting out in the corridor, says he wants to see you."

Rose frowned. "Why isn't he in Hogsmeade?" she asked. "He and James were talking about visiting Uncle George—"

"I don't know," Lucy said.

"You don't think something's wrong, do you?" Rose asked, her eyes widening as a thousand terrifying scenarios flooded her mind. "What if—"

"Rosie, I'm sure everything's fine," Lucy said quickly. "He didn't look upset. And if something had happened I'm sure everyone would be back by now and not just Fred."

"Right," Rose said, sliding her feet out from under her and standing up slowly, shaking out her cramped muscles.

Lucy smiled and trotted over to the staircase leading to the dormitories and Rose shuffled across the common room to the door. She swung it open and saw Fred leaning on the stone wall, two bottles of butterbeer clutched in his hands.

"Rosie!" he cried when he saw her. She was still holding her book, wearing leggings, her oversized sweater, and wool socks. She hadn't even put on shoes.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked with a laugh as Fred threw an arm around her, steering her away from the common room. "And where are we going? Wait…Fred, I'm not dressed to go walking through the castle!"

"You're dressed fine," Fred said, grinning down at her. "And to answer your question, I came back early. Thought I'd spend some time with my favorite cousin."

He led her across the seventh floor, taking a few shortcuts, until they rounded a corner and stood in front of a portrait of an extremely fat lady wearing a pink dress.

"Where are we?" Rose asked, eyeing the portrait cautiously.

"Oh, I forgot you've never been here before," Fred said, smiling at her sheepishly. "This is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room."

Rose looked up again at the portrait, her eyes wide before glancing back at her cousin. What would they have to do to get in? It was Gryffindor, after all, and they were supposed to be brave. Would Fred have to fight something? Would he have to answer some sort of moral question asked by the portrait? Would _Rose_ have to fight something or someone to prove she was worthy of entering?

"Password, dear?" the fat lady asked.

"Gurdyroot," Fred said. The portrait swung open and Fred gently nudged Rose inside. She continued staring at the portrait hole, unable to help the disdainful expression on her face.

"That's it?" she demanded as she climbed through. "You just have to remember a password?"

Fred chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, that's it," he said. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Rose rolled her eyes but didn't say anything more as they entered the Gryffindor common room. She looked around with wide eyes, taking it all in. Although her cousins had come up to Ravenclaw Tower a few times last year, this was her first time being in another house's common room.

Gryffindor's common room was very similar to Ravenclaw's, although the décor was red instead of blue and there was more furniture crammed in so the room felt smaller and cozier, less airy than Ravenclaw. Like Ravenclaw's, it was nearly deserted. Fred took Rose by the elbow and led her over to a squashy couch right next to the roaring fireplace.

Rose collapsed on the cushions and Fred dragged a small table over towards them. When that was done he sank down beside her and handed her one of the butterbeers.

"I feel like I never see you, Rosie," he said as he put his feet up on the table and took a swig from his drink. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Rose said, following Fred's example and taking a large gulp from her own bottle, smiling as the warm liquid coursed through her. Realizing she still had her book in her hand, she set it on the table and turned to her cousin.

"How're classes going?" Fred asked. "Still top of the class?"

"In everything except potions," Rose replied, puffing out her chest and smiling proudly.

"That's my girl," Fred laughed, putting an arm around her. "The smartest one in the family. And don't worry too much about potions, there are loads of brilliant people who are rubbish at it."

"I know," Rose sighed, taking another sip of her drink and leaning against her cousin. "But it would be nice to be top in everything."

Fred chuckled and squeezed Rose's shoulder. "You don't have to be the best at everything, Rosie," he said.

"I'd still like to be," she grumbled.

"Nah," Fred replied, grinning down at her. "That's no fun."

"It would be fun!" Rose said hotly. "I'd be top in every class!"

"But who cares about that?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow. "Other than you and your parents," he added when Rose opened her mouth to answer.

She scowled at him.

"Nobody really cares if you're top in everything, Rosie," Fred continued, twisting a piece of her hair around his finger. "It's bloody impressive enough you're top in every class but one. And really," he gave her a pointed look and tugged gently at her hair, "it's better to work hard in the subjects you actually like and find interesting, than to kill yourself trying to be excellent in the ones you don't care about."

Rose didn't answer and sat still for a moment. Fred continued twisting her hair, deep in thought.

"Remember when we were little and your dad would bring you to work with him at Wheezes?" he asked after a moment.

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, nodding her head against his shoulder.

"Sometimes I miss that," Fred said, tilting his head so he was looking at the fire and not at her. "We could just spend hours in the shop together, just you, me and Roxie. And we would play cashier and try to prank our dads. And I remember one day a customer made you cry and I took you to the back and we played with pygmy puffs for an hour until you felt better. You know, I think that's when I really started to look at you like a little sister, not just a cousin."

"Aw, Freddie," Rose said, giggling as he cringed at the nickname she hadn't used in years. Her heart swelled as she looked up at her cousin, who really was more like a big brother than anything.

Fred set his butterbeer down on the table and wrapped Rose in a hug, tucking her head underneath his chin. "And really, Rosie, it doesn't matter to anyone but you whether you're top in every class. Everyone's already so proud of you; I know I am."

"Thank you," Rose murmured, smiling as Fred squeezed her tighter. They stayed like that for a minute, neither speaking, until Rose tilted her head up to look at her cousin's face. "Fred?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're my favorite cousin, you know."

"What about Albus and Lucy?"

"Oh, er—" Rose faltered.

Fred chuckled and released her, picking up his butterbeer once again. "I know what you mean," he said. "And you're my favorite cousin too."

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the Gryffindor common room. Rose told Fred about her _Anne of Green Gables_ books and how lovely they were. Fred talked about care of magical creatures and how they were beginning to study unicorns and he would try to find a way for them to sneak out one night so he could show them to her.

All too soon the afternoon light faded into dusk and students began returning from Hogsmeade. James and Roxanne climbed through the portrait hole and ran over to Rose, ruffling her hair affectionately as they told her about their day in the village. Fred gave her one last smile as he picked up her empty butterbeer bottle and suggested they all go down to dinner together.

The rest of the term flew by and before anyone knew it, Christmas holidays were upon them. The Burrow was already humming with activity when Rose walked in the front door. Grandma Molly rushed from the kitchen to give everyone a hug before exclaiming about not having enough help in the kitchen due to Victoire's absence.

"I'll help," Rose said, trying to force a smile on her face. She was dreadful at cooking and everyone knew it, but it felt right to offer all the same.

"No, no, dear, that's quite alright," Grandma Molly said, patting Rose on the cheek and smiling. "I'll ask Albus to help me, he's surprisingly good in the kitchen."

The holidays started off as they always did, with everyone milling about the house and trying to catch up and asking questions and telling stories. To Rose's irritation Albus seemed to be physically incapable of talking about anything other than quidditch. She tried to grin and nod along with the adults, who were all excited about having another seeker in the family, but after Albus started describing tryouts for the third time, Rose's patience wore thin and she excused herself to the room she shared with Lily and Lucy.

Rose deposited herself on the bed she and Lily shared and tried valiantly to get ahold of her rising jealousy and anger. It wasn't fair of her to be annoyed with Albus; he was excited, after all, and Rose knew if she had made the quidditch team she would have talked about it just as much. But still, she thought as she tucked a piece of unruly hair behind her ear, she wasn't used to being second best. The jealous monster in her stomach clawed at her and Rose buried her face in her pillow as she fought to control herself.

There was a knock on the door and a quiet murmur of "Rosie?"

Rose picked her head up and turned to see her dad standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Dad," she said, dropping back down to the pillow in an attempt to hide her face. She didn't want to tell her dad she was jealous of Al. He would think she was a terrible cousin, a terrible friend, for getting upset over something so silly.

She heard footsteps and felt the mattress sink as her dad sat next to her. He put a hand on her shoulder and said softly, "I'd have wanted out of there too, if I were you."

"Really?" Rose asked, turning slowly to look at him, surprise coloring her face.

Ron's blue eyes crinkled as he gave his daughter a small smile and took her by the shoulders, lifting her so she was sitting up next to him. "Yeah," he said with a small laugh, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close. "It's not fun when your friends make the team and you don't."

"I'm glad he made it," Rose muttered, leaning against her father's chest. "I just wish I did too."

"I know, sweetheart," Ron said, running a hand through his daughter's messy curls. "But you'll make the team soon enough. Dominique was telling everyone how well you did at tryouts. You made the top two, and were up against a seventh year!"

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, biting back her pessimistic comment that it didn't matter if she made the top two; that simply meant she was the first string reject.

"And now I get to tell everyone that my daughter, who's just a second year, went up against a seventh year boy in quidditch tryouts and was only outdone by one save," her dad continued, his voice rising with pride. "And they'll all think the same as I do, that you're one hell of a flyer to be able to do that."

Rose smiled and wrapped her arms around her father's torso, burying her face in his chest. Her dad's unwarranted pride always made her feel a bit better. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Rosie," he said, ruffling her hair gently. "And don't worry about making the team. I didn't make it until my fifth year. And you know who else didn't? Melvin Garg."

Rose's head shot up and she stared, wide-eyed at her father. Melvin Garg was her dad's favorite player on the Chudley Cannons. There was a life-size poster of him in their living room. "No," she said. "Really?"

"Yup," Ron said, grinning at her reaction. "He tried out every year and got cut, but kept on practicing and trying to get better until he made Hufflepuff's team as a fifth year. And now look at him, playing professionally."

Rose giggled and she hugged her dad tighter. "Do you think I could play professionally one day? Like Aunt Ginny?"

"I think you can do anything you put your mind to, Rose Minerva."

Rose beamed at that and broke away from Ron, her eyes sparkling. "Really?" she asked. "What if I wanted to be an auror?"

"Then I'm sure you'd be the best auror out there," Ron said. "Maybe even better than me."

"What if I wanted to be minister of magic?"

"Your Uncle Percy might faint and your mum would go into hysterics, she'd be so excited."

Rose giggled. "What if—" she hesitated and cast around for another career. "Oh! What if I wanted to go train dragons with Uncle Charlie?"

"Then you'd better still come home for Christmas," her dad replied, grinning. "And I would go around telling everyone who would listen about my brave, smart, talented daughter who trains dragons for a living."

Rose smiled and hugged her dad again, feeling considerably happier than she had five minutes ago. "I love you," she said.

"Love you too, Rosie," Ron replied, squeezing her once before letting her go. "What do you say we go back downstairs? I think I saw Grandma Molly hide some biscuits in the top cupboard."

On Christmas Eve Rose went with her family to see Teddy and Victoire's flat on the outskirts of London. It was just her immediate family and the Potters on the trip, as the flat wasn't big enough to hold the entire family.

Rose's feet found solid ground and she gripped her mother's arm tightly as she tried to regain her balance. They had come by side-along apparition, since Mrs. Weasley said she didn't trust her husband enough to drive a muggle car in holiday city traffic. While Rose privately thought her mother had made the right decision, the disorientation caused by apparating made her wish momentarily that they had taken their chances and driven.

When she was able to stand straight and no longer felt like she might vomit, Rose looked up at the large building with wide eyes, wondering which of the tiny windows belonged to Vic and Teddy. They were standing in an alley, where no passers-by would see them appear out of thin air, but even in this claustrophobic space Rose could see that the building was beautiful. It was several stories high and made out of stone, with a large, ornately carved front door.

"Everybody here?" Uncle Harry called from beside Rose, shaking his hair out of his eyes and letting go of Lily and Albus' hands. "No accidents?"

"We're here," Rose's mum said.

"Us too," Ron replied from a few feet away, having just appeared with Hugo.

There was a faint pop and Aunt Ginny arrived with James. James staggered for a moment just as Rose had. Uncle Harry walked over to his wife and put his arm around her shoulders before kissing her on the cheek. "Looks like that's everyone," he said. "Shall we?"

The flat was perfect, in Rose's opinion. It was small, no doubt, but cozy, and seemed to be exactly the right size for two people. Vic led them through the kitchen and into the living room, where they found Teddy sitting on the couch.

"Hello!" he called, standing up and giving everyone a hug hello. "Glad you could finally come around and see the place."

"It's lovely," Aunt Ginny said as she stood on her toes to kiss Teddy on the cheek. "Did Fleur help with the decorating?"

"Oh yes," Teddy grinned, raising his eyebrows. "She spent a full two weeks overseeing everything, making sure it all lived up to her expectations."

"Well it turned out beautifully," Rose's mother said, stepping forward and giving Teddy a hug.

Rose took the opportunity to look around the bright living room. It was the center of the flat, with one doorway leading to what she assumed to be a bedroom and another leading to the bathroom, and one more which they had just walked through leading to the kitchen. The walls were painted a light grey color and were nearly overrun with various paintings and photographs.

Before Rose had time to get a closer look at the pictures, Teddy had appeared and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Have a seat, everyone," he said when he'd released her, gesturing to the large sofa and two armchairs, all a matching floral pattern. "I think you'll all be able to fit if you squeeze. If not, we can pull a couple chairs in from the kitchen."

"We'll make it work," Uncle Harry said as he sat in one of the armchairs, pulling Aunt Ginny with him so she was perched daintily on his knees. Rose's parents sat in the other chair, mirroring Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's position. The five cousins all managed to squeeze on the couch, with Rose squashed between Lily and Albus.

Teddy dragged in two chairs from the kitchen, which he and Victoire occupied after everyone had gotten settled.

"So what do you think?" Victoire asked, smiling at the visitors.

"It's lovely," Aunt Ginny said, swiveling her head around. "I can't believe it's taken us so long to finally come over here."

"That's probably for the better," Victoire said, grimacing slightly. "It seemed like we had the entire family living with us the first few weeks, the number of people who came. And then my parents decided they were going to stay with us for a week and of course Dom and Louis insisted on coming too. And my Grandmere came from France with my Aunt Gabrielle and her kids. It was a bit of a nightmare."

"Lots of conversations I couldn't understand," Teddy chimed in, grinning as Vic smacked him.

"Anyways," she continued, "we're glad you lot are here now."

"You're still coming for Christmas tomorrow though, right?" James asked. "Or are we coming here? Blimey, can we try to fit everyone in here to see what happens?"

"Absolutely not," Teddy said with a chuckle. "This is a muggle building and I don't fancy having to go before the Wizengamot and explain why I had to put an undetectable extension charm on my flat."

"Nobody would notice," James said with a shrug, turning to Rose's mum. "Aunt Hermione, didn't you put one of those charms on a bag when you were hunting horcruxes? It can't be that hard."

"Erm," Hermione squirmed, turning a bit pink. "James, dear, you know when I did it, it was for extenuating circumstances so I really can't allow Teddy to cast one on the flat without going through the proper process—"

"And anyways," Uncle Harry broke in, giving James a pointed look, "this is Teddy and Vic's flat so it's their choice whether or not to invite anyone over."

"Merlin, that's still a strange thing to hear," Albus piped up, staring about the room as though seeing it for the first time.

"I'm with you, Al," Ron said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't possibly be old enough to have a niece who has her own flat."

"Technically it's not her own flat," Teddy said with a smirk, wrapping an arm around Vic's waist. "She does share it with someone you know."

"It's still strange to think you're old enough to have your own flat as well," Uncle Harry said with a small, wistful smile, his eyes flickering to Teddy. "I still remember very clearly the day your father came rushing over to Shell Cottage, telling us you had been born and asking me to be your godfather. It's like it was yesterday."

The room went quiet as everyone watched Uncle Harry, whose mouth had turned down as his eyes got the faraway look they sometimes had, the look that meant he wasn't really with them at the moment.

"Dear?" Aunt Ginny said, turning and putting a hand gently on Uncle Harry's shoulder. "Harry?"

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head slightly and looking around the room. "Er, sorry, I just—"

"Don't worry about it," Teddy said. "Actually, I wanted to show you something." He stood up and walked across the room, where he carefully took down a small picture in a simple wooden frame from the wall. He approached Uncle Harry and held it out, watching his godfather's face eagerly.

Uncle Harry glanced down at the picture and his face paled, green eyes growing wide as he gaped. "Where did you get this?" he asked slowly, still staring.

"My grandmother gave it to me," Teddy said. "She said Sirius left it at her place a bit after leaving Hogwarts, though she was never sure whether it was intentional or not. She kept it ever since—well, since the first war. And she gave it to me when Vic and I moved in; she said they all deserved a place on my wall."

"What is it?" James asked loudly, rising from the couch and taking a step towards his father. Albus grabbed hold of his brother's shirt and yanked him back down, glaring.

Uncle Harry looked up at his son and smiled, before walking over and handing him the photograph.

Rose leaned over Albus to see it. It was a small, black and white picture, faded with age, which showed a group of five teenagers: four boys and a girl, all wearing Hogwarts robes and grinning madly at the camera.

"There's your Grandfather," Uncle Harry said quietly, pointing to a tall, dark haired boy with glasses who looked almost identical to Harry and Albus. "And there's your grandmother," he pointed out the girl, who was holding hands with the bespectacled boy and would occasionally stand on her toes to peck him on the cheek. "That's Teddy's father," Uncle Harry continued, pointing to a thin, light haired boy who had Teddy's face shape and smile. "And Sirius," he gestured to a haughty looking boy with shaggy dark hair and a smug smirk. "And Peter Pettigrew," he pointed lastly to a short, plump boy with watery eyes, who was grinning boisterously.

"Wow," Albus breathed, looking up at his father with wide eyes. "They look so—so happy."

"They do," Uncle Harry agreed, nodding. His brow furrowed when he looked up. "James?" he said softly. "Are you alright?"

James was clutching the photograph so tightly his knuckles were white. His face, which was usually crinkled in a wide smile, was unusually serious as he gazed intently at the picture. A crease appeared between his eyebrows as he stared, his hazel eyes flickering between the happy, waving figures.

"They're all dead," he said quietly as he handed the picture back to his father, still frowning. "They all died a long time ago."

On either side of Rose, Albus and Lily both stiffened slightly and leaned closer to their brother.

"Yes, they did," Uncle Harry said, kneeling down and looking over his shoulder towards Teddy, who walked closer to them.

The room seemed to go still and Rose looked over at James, then at Albus and Lily. All three were leaning towards their father with expressions of incredulity and sadness. They had just seen a photograph not only of famous wizards who had fought in the wars, but of the people who had shaped their lives. The photograph gave them a rare glimpse at their grandparents who perished when their father was a baby, the two men who had been like fathers to Uncle Harry, and the traitor who was partially responsible for the scar on Harry's forehead.

For the first time Rose felt a distance erupt between herself and her cousins. Suddenly she felt as if they were on one side of a wide canyon and she was on the other, because their last name was Potter and hers was Weasley, because while the war had taken an uncle from her it had taken half their family. She felt awkward now, sitting in between Albus and Lily. They should be next to each other, she thought, united in their tragic heritage.

Rose looked around the room. It seemed others shared her feeling that they were intruding on a private moment. Victoire was biting her lip and had her eyes glued on Teddy; Rose's parents watched Uncle Harry nervously while Aunt Ginny leaned forward in her chair, ready to pounce the second her husband or children needed her.

On the couch, James's jaw twitched as he looked once more at the picture in his father's hand, and then up at Teddy who was now crouched beside Uncle Harry.

"It's a bit of a shock to see for the first time, isn't it, mate?" Teddy said, putting a hand on James' shoulder. "I almost didn't want to put it on the wall."

"I've seen pictures of my grandparents before," James said slowly, his frown deepening. "But—"

"It's not the same, is it?" Uncle Harry asked. He looked at each of his children in turn and gave them a sad smile. "There's something about seeing all of them together, and it's even worse when you're not expecting it."

"Yeah," James muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I guess that's it."

"It kind of hits you, doesn't it?" Albus said suddenly. His green eyes were wide and trained on his father. "They—we—we came from them."

"We did," Uncle Harry said. "And it's important to remember them."

"And he—" James said, pointing at the short, chubby boy in the photograph. "He's the one who—"

"Yes," Uncle Harry said softly. "He's the one who betrayed them."

The three Potter children and Teddy all looked at each other and nodded their heads, coming to some sort of unspoken understanding that Rose was not privy to. Uncle Harry stood up and handed the photograph back to Teddy before returning to his seat, wrapping his arms tightly around Aunt Ginny and whispering something in her ear.

"So," Victoire said tentatively, glancing around as Teddy replaced the picture back on the wall. "I—I have some biscuits and fairy cakes in the kitchen if anyone wants some."

The bubble of tension burst and the adults all jumped up, smiling a little too widely and ushering everyone into the kitchen. Rose stood up and turned to see James, Albus and Lily standing close together, each brother holding one of Lily's hands as they walked into the kitchen.

They stayed at Teddy and Victoire's flat until five o'clock, when Uncle Harry checked his watch and said they had best be going if they didn't want to miss dinner and upset Grandma Molly.

Rose was rather relieved at this. Ever since Teddy had shown them the picture, she had felt out of place. The three Potter children had all sat together with their father, asking questions about their namesakes and Teddy's father. Rose stood with her parents and brother, listening to her dad and Victoire discuss auror training.

When Uncle Harry announced it was time to leave, everybody hugged and kissed Teddy and Vic, saying goodbye with so much enthusiasm it was hard to believe they were going to see each other the very next day.

They arrived back at the Burrow just in time for dinner, throughout which Rose was rather quiet. Albus talked about quidditch and the tidbits about his grandparents he had learned in the last few hours. Rose nodded along and occasionally responded with a vague "mhm," but she hardly heard a word her cousin said.

When the plates had all been cleared from the table, Rose's mum put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready to finish, love?"

Rose furrowed her brow looked down, seeing _A Christmas Carol_ in her mother's hand. Her face cleared. Of course, it was Christmas Eve. They always read the last stave on Christmas Eve. With a smile, Rose nodded and followed her mother up the stairs, Hugo bumbling after them. They decided to go to Rose, Lily and Lucy's room, since it was the closest.

They walked in and Hermione sat down in the middle of the bed, so Rose and Hugo could curl up on either side of her.

"I was very proud of you two today," she said quietly, kissing each of her children on the head and pulling them closer to her. "When Uncle Harry was talking about that picture and the people in it. You two were very tactful about it, staying nice and quiet and not being rude. I know he and Aunt Ginny and your cousins appreciate it."

Rose thought back to the picture and the reaction it had elicited from her cousins and shuddered. "It's so sad, isn't it," she said. "That they'll never meet any of those people."

"It is sad," Hermione said, running her hand through Rose's hair. "But that's why we all fought that war, so other people won't have to be sad like that."

"But Albus and James and Lily are still sad," Hugo said, frowning at his mother. "And so is Teddy."

"Yes," Hermione sighed. "They'll always be a little sad, I'm afraid. But they'll also be happy. They're usually very happy people, aren't they?"

Hugo thought for a minute and then slowly nodded his head.

"And now, because of the sacrifices those people in the picture made, your cousins, and you two, and Dad and I and Uncle Harry and a lot of other people are all very happy…much happier than we were before."

"I've never seen James so…serious before" Rose said quietly, curling into her mother's side. She paused for a moment and then added, "I'm glad we know our grandparents."

"I'm glad you know your grandparents too," Hermione whispered, giving Rose a small smile before turning back to the book. "But let's think about happier things, loves. It's Christmas Eve. Rosie, do you want to read or should I?"

"You read," Rose said, closing her eyes and listening to her mother's breathing. At the moment she was very content to simply sit on the bed with her mum and brother, with her mother's voice soothing her. "You read the ending better than anyone."

Christmas Day came and went with the usual bustle and merriment. Rose's parents had given her a new book, _Pride and Prejudice_ , which she tore through in two days. When she reached the last page, instead of closing the book, Rose promptly flipped back to the beginning and started anew, her eyes dancing as Elizabeth Bennett's world sprang up in her imagination and sucked her in.

The Longbottoms and Scamanders came over for the New Year's Eve party and Ly Scamander, who had grown recently and now stood nearly six inches taller than Rose, gave her a tight hug and asked, with a wide smile, what she had gotten for Christmas. A very red faced Rose stammered out she had gotten a new book and hastened to fetch her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ and show Ly.

He flipped through the pages with interest before handing it back to her and saying he's never heard of that book or author, but that's probably because neither of his parents know much about muggle books. Then he had winked at her and ventured off to find Roxanne, telling Rose they should try to see each other more at school. She stood rooted to the spot for a few minutes after that. Her face was still red, but she couldn't help the small smile blooming on her face. She had had a conversation with Ly Scamander without saying something embarrassing. And now she had. It had been a very short conversation, yes, but it had happened nonetheless.

Rose spent the rest of the party with Albus and Lucy, blushing furiously anytime someone mentioned the name Scamander. Her cousins must have realized the cause of her red face because after a few minutes both of them were going out of their way to talk about their family friends. Lucy would comment on Mrs. Scamander's robes and then Albus would say he wished his hair was blond like Ly Scamander's because it was _such_ a nice shade of blond, wasn't it Rose? Rose's face remained beet red for the rest of the night and she silently made a note to put nosebleed nougat in her cousins' breakfast the next morning.

She never did put nosebleed nougat in their food, her conscience getting the better of her. However, by the end of it Rose rather wished she had gone and given her cousins horrendous nosebleeds. At least then she might not have gotten into a rather nasty quarrel with Albus.

It had started innocuously enough. They had been sitting cross-legged in the room Albus shared with James and Fred, playing exploding snap, when an owl tapped on the window.

"I've got it," Albus said, jumping up and letting the owl in, untying the letter attached to its leg and opening it.

"Who's that from?" Rose asked, not looking up from the cards she was shuffling.

"Scorpius," Albus answered, giving the owl a pat on the head and sending it back out the window.

Rose's head shot up and she frowned at her cousin, who was now grinning at the letter in his hand.

"Since when are you and Scorpius Malfoy pen pals?" she asked loftily, returning to the cards.

"We're not pen pals," Albus said, glancing at her over the parchment and raising his eyebrows. "I wrote him and Nathan asking if they'd like to spend Easter holidays with us and he's just answered."

"You what?" Rose demanded, jumping to her feet and trying to tear the letter out of Albus' hands.

"Oi!" he shouted, jumping back. "What's your problem, stop grabbing at me!"

"You didn't tell me you invited them!" Rose cried, her face heating up as she glared at Albus. "You can't do that, Al, we always spend Easter holidays together!"

"Rosie, relax," Albus said, frowning at her as he folded the letter and tucked it in his jeans pocket. "We'll still spend it together, we'll just have two other people with us."

"So I can tag along with you and your friends and get ignored by Scorpius Malfoy here as well as at school?" Rose said. "Brilliant. That's exactly how I wanted to spend Easter."

"Oh, come off it, Rosie," Albus scoffed. "You wouldn't be tagging along and he doesn't ignore you—"

"Yes he does!" Rose shrieked, stamping her foot in indignation. "Yes he bloody well does Albus Severus, and you know it!"

"He's quiet with everyone!"

"He hates me!"

"Well I'm friends with him," Albus said firmly, raking his hand through his hair like Uncle Harry did when he was frustrated. "Honestly, you get along with Nathan just fine—"

"He's nice enough!"

"Scorpius is plenty nice too!"

"Then why doesn't he ever bloody talk to me?"

"I don't know," Albus shrugged, looking at her warily. "Maybe you, I dunno, intimidate him or something."

Rose snorted. "Right," she said scathingly. "I _intimidate_ him. That's it. Honestly, Al, why did you invite him?"

"I wasn't planning on it originally," he said loudly, glaring at her. "I was just going to ask Nathan but then he said that he has always spent Easter with Scorp's family so I figured I'd invite them both."

"Well you could've just bloody not invited anyone at all and spent Easter with your family like always, instead of inviting a couple of stuck up pricks!" Rose exploded, her temper getting the better of her.

Albus stepped back. For a moment he looked as though she had slapped him. A moment later he straightened and glared at her, his jaw tightening. "They're my friends, Rose," he said quietly.

His voice was barely above a whisper but the venom behind it made her freeze, her white-hot anger cooling rapidly. "They are my friends," Albus continued, his hands shaking furiously. "And if I want to invite them for holidays I don't need your permission."

Rose said nothing. She stared at Albus, who so rarely got angry. In that moment she wished he were like her and the rest of the family, who got red and screamed and stamped their feet when they were angry but then were over it soon after. This white-faced, quiet fury scared her more than anything.

"I—" she began, already deflating under her cousin's furious stare. "You know I didn't—"

"If you don't like it then you don't have to spend time with me over the holidays," Albus whispered, his green eyes fixed on her. "And that goes for if you can't be nice, too."

"I will—Al—"

"I'm going downstairs to help Grandma Molly with dinner," he said abruptly. He stalked past Rose and pushed past the door, not looking back as he went.

Rose stared after him for a moment and then sank to the floor. What had just happened?

Albus avoided her for the rest of the day, staying in the kitchen with Grandma Molly where he knew Rose wouldn't be. Rose, for her part, pretended nothing was amiss. She played chess against her dad and Hugo and sat between Fred and Lucy at dinner, taking great care not to catch Albus' eye. After the table was cleared and the family began to disperse to their different rooms she hurried up the stairs and flung herself on her bed, taking out _Pride and Prejudice_ and picking up where she had left off.

Lucy and Lily came up later in the evening and the three girls stayed up as always, talking in hushed voices about gossip they had picked up throughout the day until they were too tired to speak anymore.

Lucy and Lily fell asleep quickly, but Rose was unable to. She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, listening to Lily's steady breathing beside her. Her fight with Albus earlier replayed in her mind until Rose wanted to scream.

She hadn't meant to yell at him or say such awful things, but why had he blindsided her like that? They always spent holidays together, especially now that they hardly got to spend time together at school outside of the library. He should have told her he was inviting friends! And above all, he should have told her he was inviting Scorpius Malfoy.

With a frustrated sigh, Rose swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, throwing on her dressing gown. She needed one of Grandma Molly's biscuits. That would make her feel better.

She tip-toed out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her before creeping down the stairs, taking care to hop over the creaky fourth step.

A faint light emanated from the kitchen but this didn't faze Rose; she knew Grandma Molly often left a light on downstairs. To her surprise, however, when she walked in she did not find a deserted kitchen as she had expected. Uncle Harry sat at the table, a glass of firewhiskey in his hand.

He turned in surprise at the sound of her footsteps, but didn't reprimand her or send her back to bed.

"Hey there, Rosie," was all he said. He watched silently as Rose fetched a biscuit from the top cupboard; when she faced him again he gestured towards the chair next to him.

Rose took a seat, munching quietly on the biscuit.

Uncle Harry took a sip of firewhiskey and peered at her over the top of his glass. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked. His eyes twinkled, though Rose thought it might just be the lamplight reflecting off his glasses.

She nodded and swallowed her bite. "Yeah," she said. "I thought a biscuit might help."

"I'm sure it will," Uncle Harry chuckled. "Your grandma's biscuits always make me feel rather sleepy too."

Rose nodded and didn't say anything as she continued to nibble on her biscuit. Uncle Harry drank his firewhiskey and they sat together in companionable silence for a few minutes.

"How's school going?" he asked after a while, setting his glass on the table. "How do you like Ravenclaw?"

"I like it," Rose replied evenly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Although I do rather miss Albus."

Uncle Harry smiled and reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "It must be hard being in different houses," he said. "Especially when you're used to always seeing each other."

"Yes," Rose said vaguely, nodding again and looking at the table. "It is—wait" her head snapped up and she looked at her uncle curiously. "Uncle Harry, can I—or, could you tell me about the Malfoys?"

Uncle Harry's eyebrows shot up and he picked up his firewhiskey and took a long drink before setting it back down and looking at her warily. "Why do you want to know about them?" he asked slowly.

Rose shrugged, searching for a plausible answer before sighing and deciding to just tell him the truth. "Scorpius is in Ravenclaw and he doesn't seem to like me," she said, twisting a piece of hair. "And I know his family is known for being, er, not good, but Albus and Lucy both say he's nice and I just don't know—" she trailed off, peeking up to see her uncle looking at her oddly.

"Alright," Uncle Harry said, furrowing his brow and swirling his firewhiskey around. "But, Rosie, you can't repeat anything I tell you, alright? I need you to promise that."

"I promise," Rose breathed, relieved at not being questioned further about her curiosity with this particular family.

Uncle Harry shifted in his chair and patted the spot next to him. Rose padded over and sat down so they were sharing a chair. Her uncle put an arm around her and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Malfoy was at school with me and your parents. You know that much?"

Rose nodded. She had gathered that much from Albus and from the few times she had heard the name mentioned by one of her parents over the last few years.

"Well," Uncle Harry continued, "Mr. Malfoy was rather a—er—a bully at school. He could be cruel. His family was all mixed up with the dark arts and, yes, Scorpius' father and grandfather were death eaters."

Rose said nothing, not wanting to confirm that Albus had already told her as much, but also not wanting to lie and pretend she hadn't known.

"I figured Albus would tell you," Uncle Harry said gently, squeezing her arm and smiling. "I'm not angry with him, don't worry. I'd rather you heard it from him than someone less—kind. But, where was I? Oh, right. Mr. Malfoy was a death eater but, I want you to understand something, Rose. A lot of people, even your dad, still hold that against him. They find it hard to forgive Mr. Malfoy for some of the things he did during the war. I don't like that people don't forgive him, but I understand. He was—well, a lot of people did terrible things during the war and he was no different."

"What did he do?" Rose asked quietly. She snapped her jaw shut as soon as the question left her mouth, almost afraid to know. She knew her mother was a muggle-born, and she had heard from her cousins and schoolmates what death eaters did to people like that and those who defended them during the war. Her mother's face swam in Rose's head and a surge of terror gripped her. "He—he didn't do anything to our family, did he?" she whispered, turning to her uncle with wide eyes.

Uncle Harry hesitated. Rose saw him chew his bottom lip and then take another sip of his drink before he glanced down and locked his green eyes, identical to Albus', onto her blue ones. "Mr. Malfoy made a lot of mistakes during the war," he said. "And some people in our family were hurt by them. But he has tried very hard to change since then and has worked hard to redeem himself. And, Rosie, the most important thing I want you to remember is that he is not an evil person. Neither is Scorpius."

Rose nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek as she processed everything her uncle said.

"So he—he didn't hurt anyone in our family?"

Uncle Harry sighed and tightened his grip on her shoulder. "He was part of a movement that aimed to destroy our entire family, Rosie," he said quietly. "But anything he did, he regrets. And, in my opinion, his transgressions are forgivable."

Rose nodded, unsure of how to respond to that.

"And, Rosie?" Uncle Harry murmured, giving her a pointed look. "No matter what your parents or other kids at school say, take it easy on Scorpius. He can't help who his family is and I would bet his life is difficult enough already without you or anyone else jumping on him for something he can't control."

"Okay," Rose said, feeling a flush creep up her neck.

"And when he's here for Easter try to be nice," Uncle Harry said.

Rose looked at him sharply and he raised a knowing eyebrow before leaning over to kiss the top of her head and nudging her in the back. "I think that's enough for tonight," he said. "It's late and you should get to bed."

Rose slid off the chair and Uncle Harry stood up and stretched before setting his firewhiskey glass on the counter.

Rose walked quietly out the kitchen, her head still spinning from everything she had heard. "Goodnight, Uncle Harry," she said quietly, pausing in the doorway and glancing over her shoulder.

He turned to look at her and smiled, the light from the lamps reflecting off his glasses. "Goodnight, Rosie," he called back.

* * *

Edited: 1/26/17


	7. Chapter 7

The day came for the cousins to return to Hogwarts and Rose found that she wasn't terribly upset. The last few days of Christmas holiday had been awkward and uncomfortable. Albus had continued to ignore her and it seemed there wasn't a room in the magically enlarged house where a person could read without being interrupted by noisy family members. So it was with a sigh of relief that Rose kissed her parents goodbye and hopped onto the scarlet steam engine.

She quickly found the Weasley compartment and sat down warily. Everyone else was still on the platform saying goodbye to their parents, for which Rose was grateful as it felt like she hadn't had a moment to herself in two weeks. She leaned her head against the door, closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, wishing the others would choose to sit elsewhere and leave her uninterrupted. The thought of spending all day in the cramped compartment surrounded by her eight cousins made Rose feel claustrophobic and drained.

The glass door slid open and Rose jumped back. Pressing a palm to her forehead and trying to hide her irritated frown, she looked up to see Albus standing before her, his hand running through his hair.

"Er—hi," he said, his eyes flitting up to meet hers. His hand dropped to his side and he gestured vaguely to the spot next to her. "Can I sit by you?"

"Uh—sure," Rose said, frowning slightly as he sat down. It was the first time Al had spoken to her voluntarily since their argument two days ago. She slid the door shut and leaned back against her seat, forcing herself not to look at her cousin.

Albus chewed his lip and they sat in silence for a moment, both fidgeting and taking care not to sit too close to each other. It was horribly awkward for Rose. Albus was one of her favorite cousins, one of her best friends. She didn't know if his choosing to sit next to her was meant as some sort of peace offering or if he still planned to ignore her indefinitely. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed a palm to her forehead. They couldn't spend the entire train ride avoiding each other. She wanted to make up with Al, but the thought of just blurting out an apology made Rose recoil.

A more tactful person than Rose may have devised a plan to subtly bring up the topic and carefully coax Al into talking about the ugly words that had gotten between them. Unfortunately, Rose being who she was, she chose to square her shoulders and ask perhaps a bit too harshly, "So, are you just going to sit here and not talk to me for the whole train ride then?"

Albus raised an eyebrow and met her gaze, looking rather unsurprised at her outburst. "No," he said. "I was actually hoping we could talk about that."

"Right," said Rose, a bit embarrassed at her boorishness. She dropped her gaze and flushed, regretting her momentary rudeness. "Er, well—" she took a deep breath and exhaled in exasperation. "Oh, I'm sorry, Al."

"I'm sorry too," he nodded. "I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that."

"I shouldn't have been so nasty about it," Rose said, scooting closer to him. Everything suddenly seemed much simpler, much easier now that they had both apologized. "You know when I get angry I say things and I don't mean them—"

"Rosie, it's alright," said Al, giving her a small smile and taking her hand. "Really. I was pretty upset—"

"I know," she muttered.

"But," Al continued, "I know you feel bad about it and I don't want us to be in a fight when we get back to school. And I kind of missed you the last few days."

Rose grinned and nudged him in the shoulder. "Yeah?" she goaded. "Missed your favorite cousin?"

"I never said you're my favorite cousin," Albus grumbled, though he couldn't contain a smile. They both knew Rose was his favorite. And he was hers, right after Fred.

"So we're alright?" Rose asked, her grin fading as she locked eyes with Albus. "Really, Al, I am sorry about it. I was horrible."

"It's alright," he murmured. "But," he added with a sudden smirk, "if you get a Circe chocolate frog card you have to give it to me. I just need her, Gwydion, and Houdini and I'll have a complete collection."

"Fine," Rose mumbled, rolling her eyes and shooting him a half-hearted glare.

The compartment door opened again and Roxanne and Louis entered. They sat opposite the two second years and Roxanne grinned. "Ready to go back?" she asked, putting an arm around Louis.

"Definitely," Rose and Albus responded, catching each other's eye and grinning. Albus scooted closer to Rose and gave her a smile when their shoulders knocked together.

"It's always nice to see everyone, but Merlin, being at the Burrow makes me miss Hogwarts sometimes," Roxanne said.

"I'm excited to have a bed to myself," Rose said. "Lily's worse than a devil's snare in her sleep with all her kicking. It's horrible."

A sudden shout from behind them of "Oy! Exploding snap tournament!" announced James' appearance and Rose turned to see the rest of her cousins filing into the compartment, sliding into seats and squirming to get comfortable in the cramped space. She was now seated between Albus and Fred and couldn't help but smile as James immediately began to deal out cards. Rose took her cards and caught Fred's eye, grinning at him and raising an eyebrow as she set a pair down on the table. Term was already off to a better start than she had anticipated.

Life at Hogwarts resumed quickly and Rose slipped back into her old routines easily, though with a few changes. She and Lucy now spent nearly every evening after dinner in the library, per Lucy's insistence. They were often joined by Albus, except for the days he had quidditch practice, and always joined by Nathan Nott, who didn't seem to mind spending so much time with the two Ravenclaws.

Scorpius Malfoy also joined them often, though he still pretended that Rose didn't exist. Remembering what Uncle Harry had told her, Rose tried her hardest to ignore him, which was surprisingly easy to do when she put her mind to it. Most evenings they managed to work without speaking to each other at all.

Rose's willingness to accompany her cousins to the library was not entirely due to a desire to spend time with them, however. Since coming back from holidays a certain Ly Scamander seemed to have taken up the habit of spending a few evenings a week at a nearby table with his friends. Rose liked to go just for the thrill of being near him, though she blushed furiously any time Lucy waggled her eyebrows and suggested Rose go over and say hello.

One evening in early February Rose was sitting next to Lucy at their usual library table, her quill scratching away as she scribbled out the last few sentences of her charms essay. Albus had quiddditch practice and Tommy was getting extra help in transfiguration from Professor Lyncroft, so the girls were at the library with Nathan and Scorpius.

They were all working in silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose caught sight of familiar dirty blond hair and inhaled sharply, forcing herself not to look up.

"Rosie, you promised," Lucy whispered beside her in a sing-song voice, barely concealing her grin as her eyes flickered from Lysander to Rose.

"I know," Rose bit out, frowning at her essay. She bent her head lower so her red curls spilled over the parchment, smearing the glistening ink. "I don't want to, though."

"You shouldn't have made that bet then," Lucy said smugly, shaking her head.

"What bet?" Nathan Nott asked from across the table, looking up with interest at the two cousins. Beside him Scorpius Malfoy glanced up momentarily, cocking an eyebrow when Rose scowled at him and then returning to his work.

"Our cousin James suggested that Rosie and I make a bet over last week's quidditch match," Lucy said, beaming. "And seeing as neither of our families sends us loads of money while we're at school, we decided that whoever won the bet got to dare the other to do something."

"And I take it you won?" Nathan asked, the corner of his mouth twitching up.

Lucy nodded, her grin widening as she turned to Rose, who looked as though she had been fed a vomit flavored Bertie Bott's. "Rose had Hufflepuff winning."

"They would've bloody won too if MacLean hadn't sneezed right as he was about to catch the snitch," Rose grumbled. She sat up and angrily swept her hair over her shoulder, ignoring the spots of ink in it.

"Now, now, Rosie," Lucy crowed, her usually mild face twisted into a gloating smile. "Slytherin won fair and square, and I won the bet fair and square." This earned her a pointed glare and an indistinguishable noise from Rose which sounded vaguely like a string of curses.

Across the table, Nathan looked as though he were trying his hardest not to laugh. "I can't believe you bet on Slytherin and won," he said to Lucy. "Honestly, they've been playing like dung all year, the chasers are horrible—"

"Yes they are!" Rose burst out, throwing her arms wide in exasperation. "And the victory was a fluke! An absolute fluke! If Collin MacLean hadn't bloody sneezed—"

"But he did sneeze," Lucy interjected.

"Well that's not fair!" Rose exclaimed, crossing her arms with a huff.

"That's quidditch," Scorpius Malfoy said quietly, looking up once again and fixing Rose with a look of distaste. "And you're acting like quite a sore loser at the moment."

"I am not!" Rose cried. "I just can't believe I lost the stupid bet!"

"What do you have to do now?" Nathan asked, leaning forward eagerly. "I can't believe Lucy would make you do anything that bad."

"You'd be surprised," Rose growled, throwing a dirty look at her cousin and slouching in her chair. She twisted slightly and looked over at the group of third year Ravenclaws not far away. Lysander sat with his friends, his back to Rose.

"Stop being so dramatic, Rosie," Lucy said, taking a tissue out of her pocket and wiping the ink from Rose's hair.

"I'm not being dramatic."

"Yes you are. You just have to say hello. Honestly, it's not going to kill you."

"Maybe it will," Rose said, pulling away from her cousin. "Maybe the stress of it will kill me. You know Grandma Molly always says that Great Aunt Muriel died from too much stress."

"Great Aunt Muriel died from a heart attack because she only drank red wine for the last five years of her life," Lucy said, tucking the tissue back in her pocket. "And she was already fat as a cow from what your dad said."

"Well—I—I—" Rose sputtered, her blue eyes going wide as she stared at her cousin.

"Wait, what is the dare exactly?" Nathan asked, his eyebrows knitting together. "She's just got to go say hello to someone?"

"Not just anyone," Lucy said. "Ly Scamander."

"Ly—the twin—oh—Rose— _oh_ ," Nathan's eyes fell on Rose and she felt her face flush. She looked away and jammed an elbow into Lucy's side.

"Ow!" Lucy cried, jumping to the edge of her chair. "What was that for?"

"Just tell everyone, why don't you?" Rose grumbled. Her face felt as though it were on fire and she glanced involuntarily again towards the third year Ravenclaws.

"It's not like everyone didn't already know," Lucy said, pulling out her herbology notes. "You're horribly obvious about it."

"I am not!" Rose hissed. She looked up and saw Nathan and Scorpius looking at her, Nathan with a smile and Scorpius with a look of disdain. Her face grew even warmer.

"Just go do it, Rosie," Lucy said, flipping a page in _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. "And then it'll be done and I'm sure the next time we bet on a quidditch match you'll win and make me do something equally embarrassing."

"You can count on that," Rose mumbled. She sat up straighter in her chair and took a deep breath, pulling her fingers through the wild tangles in her hair. She pushed her charms essay to the side and stood up, steeling herself.

"Just pretend he's Fred or Al," Lucy chirped.

Rose nodded dumbly, thinking privately that neither Fred nor Al made her as self-conscious as Ly Scamander, and imagining the pale-eyed blond haired boy to be one of her cousins was vaguely repulsive. Squaring her shoulders, Rose shot one last look at Lucy and made her way to the table where Ly sat.

He turned around as she approached, giving her his usual easy grin and flicking a piece of hair out of his eyes.

"Hullo, Rosie," he greeted her. "How's the studying going?"

"Er, hi," Rose squeaked, her face steaming once again as she stood before Ly. She tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at her shoes, cursing her red face. "It—it's alright—not too bad really." She stopped abruptly and clamped her mouth shut, lest she say anything embarrassing.

"That's good," Ly said, not commenting on her stammering. "And how about that book you told me about at New Year's? What's it called, Pies and Pumpkin Juice?"

" _Pride and Prejudice_ ," Rose answered, her eyes darting up to Ly's face and her mouth twitching into a small smile. "It's brilliant, I've brought it to school with me."

"Is that what you were reading last night in the common room then?"

"Er, no," Rose flushed. "That was one of my _Anne of Green Gables_ books."

Ly smiled and his pale blue eyes crinkled. Rose wanted to melt into the ground. "Well," she said quickly, stumbling over her feet as she made to turn around. "I've got to go back and—and—you know write words—and dip my quill—it can't do that on its own I have to be there and I've been away too long so—er—bye."

Without waiting for a reply she hastily spun on her heel, almost tipping over but managing to regain her balance before she fell to the ground. She hurried back to her own table and dropped into her chair next to Lucy, who was grinning.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Lucy asked, her brown eyes gleaming.

Rose breathed in sharply and buried her face in her hands. "When I get to dare you, Lucy Marie Weasley, you're going to be sorry."

The ice of February melted into the slush and sleet of March. Although her cousins prodded her constantly, Rose refused to initiate another conversation with Lysander, blushing horribly anytime it was suggested. Furthermore, she was very careful from then on about making bets with any of her family members, particularly those who knew about her crush.

As winter faded away, Rose resumed practicing her quidditch skills, spending four evenings a week out on the pitch running through drills and having her various practice partners try and get goals past her. Dom joined whenever she had time, coaching Rose through complicated maneuvers and offering advice as they flew around in the sharp springtime chill.

Dom, however, was unable to practice as much as Rose wanted, between studying and running regular house team practices. Because of this, Rose often found herself on the pitch with Maren Thomas, much to both girls' surprise. They enjoyed practicing together, as Maren was a chaser and Rose a keeper; they spent hours in the air, keeping a running score of how many goals Maren managed to get past Rose and how many Rose saved.

When they got bored of playing one-on-one Rose and Maren sweet-talked, bribed, and blackmailed Allie Boot and Lucy into joining them on the pitch for two-a-side games. Both Lucy and Allie were dreadful at the game and Lucy refused to fly higher than ten feet in the air, so the matches usually ended with Rose and Maren swearing never to bring their best friends onto the pitch ever again, but they always did and although Allie and Lucy grumbled and complained all four girls rather enjoyed their time on the pitch together.

After one such game in late March, during which Lucy had nearly fallen off her broom and Allie had somehow managed to hit herself in the mouth with the quaffle, the four girls sat on the frozen ground of the quidditch pitch, their brooms lying beside them, talking quietly. They were all drenched in sweat and out of breath, hardly noticing the chilly breeze in the air.

"Merlin," Allie said, "I can't believe we're almost done with our second year here."

"We're not almost done," Lucy replied, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "We've still got nearly three months left of term."

"Yes, but only three months," Allie said petulantly, her blonde curls rustling around her face as she shook her head in disbelief. "And then we're third years. And we can take new classes and go to Hogsmeade—"

"And Mare and I will be on the quidditch team," Rose said, grinning at Maren.

"Yes, yes, and Lucy and I will be obligated to come to every single match and deck ourselves out in blue and bronze and scream until we lose our voices," Allie said, smiling at Rose and Maren.

"I'd hope you'd do that anyways," Maren said, tucking a piece of dark hair behind her ear. "My dad said if I made the team he'd floo over for every match."

"My dad said the same thing," Rose replied, rolling her eyes but unable to conceal the grin on her face. "He and my mum came with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny to watch Albus and everyone else in the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match, and Dad said hopefully next year he'll have to be here for the Ravenclaw matches too."

"Maybe our dads will start a fan club," Maren snorted. "Y'know they played on the Gryffindor team together? My dad told me that over the summer."

"I didn't," Rose said, laughing. "You should come to the Burrow sometime, Mare, and play with me and Fred and Al—" she broke off suddenly, sitting up straighter and looking around eagerly. "Hey!" she cried. "You two should come visit the Burrow over Easter holidays! Al invited friends, I'm sure Lucy and I can too."

"Er, Rosie?" Lucy said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"It'd be brilliant," Rose continued, ignoring her cousin as she flushed with excitement. "You can meet everyone and we all haven't gotten together over a holiday yet, which is silly, we really should've done it ages ago!"

"Rosie," Lucy tried again.

"And of course it always gets a bit crazy with all the family there but everyone would love to meet you—"

"Rosie!" Lucy yelled, leaning forward.

"What?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrows as she stopped her rambling.

"You can't invite them to the Burrow if you're not going to be there," Lucy said pointedly, giving Rose an exasperated look.

"I—wait, what do you mean I'm not going to be there?" Rose demanded. "Am I being tossed out or something?"

"No," Lucy said slowly, in the voice one might use with a small child, "your family's going to France, remember?"

"Er—" Rose paused and frowned. "What?"

"You're going to France for Easter holidays. That's why you're not going home on the train—"

"I'm not going home on the train?"

"For the love of Dumbledore," Lucy bit out, rolling her eyes. Maren and Allie giggled, watching the two cousins interact.

"How did you know this?" Rose asked, too stunned to say anything else.

"My dad mentioned it in his last letter," Lucy shrugged. "Did your parents not tell you?"

"Er, they might have," Rose frowned, looking a little guilty. "I may have accidentally spilled tea on my mum's last letter and set fire to it trying to clean it off."

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose and Maren sniggered.

"So I'm going to France over Easter?" Rose asked, the news now really sinking in. "I won't be at the Burrow? I won't have to see that twat—"

"Rosie, please," Lucy gasped. She was somehow still shocked every time Rose used foul language. "You know you shouldn't call people that—"

"Well he deserves it," Rose said stiffly.

"Who's this now?" Allie asked, looking curiously between Rose and Lucy. "Who's the twat?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and tugged at her ponytail. "Rose thinks Scorpius Malfoy is—er—"

"An enormous twat," Rose supplied, elbowing her cousin gently in the ribs as Lucy scowled. "Lighten up, Luce. I could've called him much worse."

"You shouldn't call him anything at all," Lucy mumbled, rubbing her side. "Honestly, Rose—"

"Why's he a twat?" Maren asked.

" _Stop saying that word_ —"

"He just is," Rose said loudly over Lucy's reprimand, scowling at the thought of their blond haired classmate. "He ignores me for no reason, and always looks at me like I just hexed his mum or something."

"That's odd," Allie said, crinkling her forehead. "He seems so quiet and sweet. I can't imagine him being unkind to anyone."

"Well he's unkind to me," Rose huffed.

"I'm sure he doesn't mean it," Allie said quickly, twisting a curl around her index finger and chewing on her cheek thoughtfully. "Really, I can't believe he would act like that on purpose—"

"You just think he's fit," Maren said, waggling her eyebrows.

"I do not!" Allie cried, her face going scarlet as she smacked Maren in the shoulder. "I just think he's a very nice person and I can't see him being rude for no reason—"

"You think he's fit?" Rose asked, whipping around to look at Allie incredulously. "But he's so pale and his face is so—so unhappy all the time—"

"He's nice," Allie muttered, sinking into the ground. "I—I dunno—his eyes are pretty and he's not _that_ pale—"

Rose raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Allie bit her lip and glanced around at her three roommates. "And he's nice," she added quietly. "He's always sweet whenever I talk to him and you know he adores Nathan and everyone who knows him well says he's wonderful."

"That's what I've always said," Lucy interjected. Allie shot a grateful look at her and began studying her fingernails, her cheeks still sizzling. "And I don't think he's fit," Lucy continued loftily, giving Rose a pointed look, "so it's an unbiased opinion—"

"No, but you think his best friend is fit," Rose interrupted her cousin with a grin.

"So what if I do," Lucy mumbled, her face flaming up to match Allie's. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"I didn't say there was," Rose murmured. She leaned back and laid down on the frozen ground, pulling her knees to her chest.

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes,

"We should get inside," Maren said at last, tilting her head towards the sky, where a full moon could be seen peeking out from behind a cloud. "It's probably close to curfew and I don't much fancy getting a detention."

They murmured in agreement and rose to their feet, wiping dirt off their robes and brushing flyaway hair away from their faces. After stowing their brooms in the broom shed they walked arm in arm back to the castle. Rose looked to Lucy on her left and Maren on her right, smiling to herself. It was nice to have friends in her year other than Lucy and Al. It made Hogwarts feel more like home.

Easter holidays came and went. Rose missed the bustle of Easter at the Burrow, but the thrill of being in France and very far away from Scorpius Malfoy quickly banished any regrets from her mind.

She returned to the castle by floo powder just after everyone else had arrived by carriage. After giving Aunt Minnie a hug and promising to stay out of trouble, Rose dusted off her robes and trotted off to the Great Hall. She had barely gotten through the doors when she was nearly bowled over by a crushing mass squeezing her from every direction.

"Rosie, you're back!" James' voice called from somewhere above her head.

"Y-yes," Rose gasped out, slipping under the many arms which had encircled her and straightening up to see all her cousins beaming at her.

"We missed you!" Dom said, wrapping her arm around Rose's shoulder and giving her a quick squeeze. "How was France?"

"It was brilliant," Rose answered, beaming.

"Was it warm there?" Albus asked. "I think you've got more freckles now than you did last week."

Rose self-consciously covered her nose with a hand. She had thought the same thing, but had hoped nobody else would notice the extra freckles.

"Albus!" Lucy reprimanded, smacking him on the back. "That's rude!"

"Oy!" he yelped, stepping away and glaring. "I didn't say it was a bad thing, it was just something I noticed—"

"The most important thing we want to know," Fred said loudly, drowning out Albus and Lucy's bickering, "is did you bring us presents?"

"Isn't me being here a present enough?" Rose laughed, letting Fred pull her in for a hug.

Fred chuckled and shook his head. "Grandma Molly's Easter egg hunt wasn't the same without you," he said.

"Did you actually find eggs this year since I wasn't there to get them all first?" Rose teased, earning a scowl from Fred.

"Hush," he said, taking her by the arm and steering her towards the Gryffindor table, where all the cousins seemed to be headed despite the fact that most of them were not in that house. "We're all eating together tonight," Fred explained, nudging Rose into the seat between himself and Albus. "Since we didn't get to see very much of each other over the holidays, with your family being abroad and Uncle Harry and Uncle Bill both having to work so much."

Rose smiled and dug into a plate of mashed potatoes, asking questions about the holiday and catching up on news of various family members and relaying her own stories from her week abroad. By the time the dessert plates disappeared she felt as though she had been at Grandma Molly's for Easter after all. Her cousins had recounted nearly every second of the holiday.

Rose and Lucy entered their dormitory that night in good spirits, though both of them were exhausted. Rose flopped onto her bed immediately and crawled beneath the covers.

"How was the Gryffindor table?" Maren asked, chuckling when she saw Rose already ensconced in her blue sheets. "Tiring?"

"Definitely," Rose yawned, turning over on her stomach and closing her eyes. "I'm too sleepy now even to read."

"That's when you know it's bad," Allie laughed. "When Rose is too tired to read."

"Bugger off," Rose mumbled, already beginning to fade away into sleep.

"Must be nice to have all sorts of cousins at school with you," Maren mused, pulling back the blankets on her own bed and climbing in. "You have your entire family right here with you. It seems like it's brilliant."

"Yes," Rose murmured, smiling as she burrowed further into her pillow. Sleep tugged her further and further away from the conversation, but her lip still curled up at Maren's words. "I love being a Weasley."

Time seemed to fly after Easter holidays. The days passed in a blur and before anyone knew it May 2nd arrived and the castle buzzed as older students prepared for the Victory Ball. Rose sat with Lucy on Molly's bed, watching Dom and Molly get ready.

"You look lovely," Lucy sighed, sitting up next to Rose and staring at her sister and cousin with wide eyes.

"Thank you," Dom replied happily, her shimmery peach colored gown pooling around her as she sat on the adjacent bed. Her skin seemed almost to glow in the dim light of the dormitory and her strawberry blonde hair fell down her back in loose waves.

Molly smiled from across the room and applied another coat of pink lip gloss. Her dark red hair was coiled and pinned against her head and she wore a pretty light green dress that draped loosely over her slim figure.

"It's strange not having Vic here to help with our hair," Dom mused quietly. She pushed herself off the bed and walked to Molly, picking up her wand from a nearby table and waving it over Mollly's head to instantly smooth down the flyaway hairs.

"I know," Molly agreed, putting the lip gloss in her purse and turning her head to look at herself from different angles in the mirror, patting her shiny, flyaway-free hair. "It was strange not being able to wish her happy birthday in person today."

"I bet Teddy took care of that for all of us," Dom said with a wicked smirk, shooting a quick glance at Rose and Lucy before leaning over and whispering something in Molly's ear. The two older girls dissolved into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Rose demanded, not happy at being left out of the joke.

"N-nothing," Dom choked out, trying to control her laughter. "I'll tell you in a few years."

"Lucy, will you help me with my earrings?" Molly called out, rifling through a small jewelry box. "I don't think I can get them on without ruining my nails."

Lucy got up and walked towards her sister, smiling wistfully. She took the small diamond earrings Molly held out. "I wish I could go to the ball," she said mournfully.

"You'll get your chance soon," Molly said, meeting her sister's eye in the mirror and giving her a smile. "Only two more years."

"Or next year if we get asked," Rose added with a grin. She pictured herself with her hair sleek and shiny and pinned up elegantly on her head, twirling across the dance floor in a pretty gown as Ly watched her in adoration, maybe finally realizing that he liked her as more than a family friend. That's how it always happened in books, anyways.

"Is there anyone in particular that would be able to ask you next year?" Dom asked, smirking and cocking an eyebrow.

Rose flushed and bit her lip, turning her attention to a loose thread on the duvet below her as the daydream continued to play out in her head. Dom laughed and stood up, grabbing her clutch bag.

"We should be going soon, Mols," she said. "I don't want to keep the boys waiting."

"You're going with Nick Ferntail, aren't you?" Rose asked, looking up suddenly. She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but wasn't sure if she succeeded.

"Yes I am," Dom answered. "But only because he's a good snog," she added with a wink.

"Dominique!" Molly cried. "Don't tell them things like that, what kind of example are you setting?"

"The example that if a bloke's a good snog, you should go to the ball with him," Dom shrugged.

"When did you snog Ferntail?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow. "Why didn't we know about it?"

Dom snorted and snapped her bag closed. "Oh, Rosie," she said. "The number one rule of being a Weasley woman at Hogwarts is that if you're snogging a bloke you don't want to take home to meet Grandma Molly, don't let your cousins know about it. This is a family of blabbermouths. Make sure you remember that."

"Or, you know, don't snog blokes you don't want to bring home to Grandma," Molly put in, giving Dom a warning glance. "And on that note, I think it's time we left. Have a good night, you two. We'll tell you everything tomorrow."

"You promise?" Lucy asked. "And you'll tell Roxie and James and Fred that we said hello?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Molly assured her younger sister, stooping down to give Lucy a hug. "We'll tell you absolutely everything over breakfast tomorrow."

As it happened Dom and Molly both slept in the next morning and weren't at breakfast to recount the evening to their eager cousins. Therefore Rose and Lucy slid into the Gryffindor table next to Fred and James, who looked tired but no worse for wear, and began bombarding the two boys with questions.

"How was the ball?" Rose asked, pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"It was fun," Fred said with a shrug. "We put itching powder in Jacob Flint's dress robes so he was squirming through the entire thing it was amazing."

Rose rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Of course you did that," she said. "But really how was it? Did you like the music? Did anything interesting happen? Oh, tell me about the dresses! Who had the prettiest one?"

"I wasn't paying attention to dresses," Fred said, reaching over her for the plate of eggs. "I was more interested in the girls wearing them."

"You must have been paying at least a little bit of attention though," Lucy said, turning to James expectantly. "Really, tell us about them."

"Luce, do I look like someone who can tell you about dresses?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I appreciate all the effort girls put into choosing them but honestly—"

"You must have noticed _something_."

"I noticed that Madison Mulberry's dress was extremely tight fitting around her—"

"Stop! Okay, fine," Lucy huffed, frowning. "You two are useless."

"We never claimed to be otherwise," James said, ruffling Lucy's hair and grinning.

"Am I still your favorite cousin even if I'm useless?" Fred asked, leaning down to nudge Rose in the shoulder.

Rose pretended to consider her answer as she snatched a piece of bacon off his plate and took a bite. "I s'pose so," she said. "Although Dom is a much better person to talk about the ball with."

"I'm alright with that," Fred chuckled.

Exams snuck up on them and all Rose's friends began studying like mad. Molly, who was taking her O.W.L.s, drew up color coded study schedules for everyone before hiding away in the library day and night.

Lucy followed her study schedule to the minute and shared it with Maren and Allie, who both looked rather frazzled. Rose tucked hers away in her bag and settled into an armchair in the common room with a book. She wasn't terribly fussed about exams. She knew what was going on in every class. She vaguely remembered her vow to study harder for potions this year but honestly, sitting by the fire reading _Sense and Sensibility_ was much more appealing. And she knew what she was doing in potions, anyway. At least, she knew all the important things.

The week before term ended Fred came to the Ravenclaw common room and took Rose out for an evening fly to the astronomy tower as they had done the year before. Rose told him about how Jane Austen was her new favorite author, to which he answered with enthusiasm. After that Rose told him what Dom had said about not letting family know if you were snogging a boy you didn't want to bring home. Fred didn't find that comment amusing, telling Rose if he ever found out she were snogging someone and hadn't told him, he would have to hex the boy.

Exam week arrived. Rose's roommates were all stony faced and nervous. Molly drove everyone insane with her grumbling and strangled cries that she was going to fail her O.W.L.s and be forced to live with her parents forever. To everyone's surprise, James Potter spent two evenings in the library studying for a charms exam because he had made a bet with Roxanne that he could get an O.

Rose still spent her evenings curled up by the fire, though she did look over her potions notes briefly the night before the exam.

All of a sudden it was the last night of term. Exams were over and everybody felt, for the most part at least, that they had done alright. Potions had gone better than expected and Rose thought happily she wouldn't be at all surprised if she managed to beat Scorpius Malfoy this year.

Slytherin had won the quidditch cup; Al had caught the snitch in an astounding fifty seven seconds. Gryffiindor won the house cup, although Ravenclaw came in second. To celebrate, in the Great Hall at the end of year feast James and Fred set off fireworks that took the shape of a giant lion that roared so loud the plates and silverware trembled on the tables. McGonagall walked over and shouted at them, but didn't punish them as it was the last night. Rose swore she saw the headmistress smile as she took her place back at the staff table.

Exam results came that night and the second year Ravenclaw girls all agreed not to open theirs until they were in their dorm by themselves and could either cheer or cry as loud as they wished. Rose held the heavy envelope loosely, unlike Lucy who had hers in a death grip.

"Ready?" Allie asked, looking around. "Open them…now!"

They all tore into the envelopes hastily. There was a rustling of parchment and a general sigh of relief that signified that nobody had failed.

"An O in charms and E's in all the rest, except transfiguration," Maren said, smiling contentedly as she tucked the parchment into her trunk.

"Me too except I got an O in herbology as well," Lucy said, looking relieved as she laid down in bed.

"I got all E's and an A in History of Magic and potions," Allie added.

"How about you, Rosie?" Lucy asked, giving Rose a knowing smile. "Top of the class in everything?"

"Except potions," Rose grumbled, tossing the parchment into her trunk in disgust. "Bloody Malfoy beat me again."

"But you're top in everything else, aren't you?" Lucy said.

"Yeah," Rose mumbled. "But I thought I beat him this year."

"You still did really well, though," Allie said.

Rose crossed her arms and scowled. "I hate the git."

"Rosie, really," Lucy admonished, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're being ridiculous. And you're not allowed to be in a foul mood the last night of term."

"Says who?" Rose demanded.

"Says me," Lucy said firmly, narrowing her eyes and glancing towards her wand. "We're going to have a nice night before summer starts and I don't get to see you every day. And I won't have you ruin it because you're too competitive for your own good."

Rose rolled her eyes but dropped onto her bed with a sigh, unfolding her arms.

"Good," Lucy said, rummaging under her bed for something. "Now girls, I have an entire year's worth of _Witch Weekly_ and we can do the quizzes. Ready to find out what amortentia smells like to us?"

They stayed up far later than was wise, taking the Witch Weekly quizzes and laughing over their results, reminiscing over the past two years and making plans for the next five. Rose climbed into bed in the wee hours of the morning, very tired and full to the brim with affection for her roommates.

"Make sure you lot come visit me at my dad's office this summer," Maren said sleepily. "We can go out for ice cream."

"We will," Rose answered, snuggling into her sheets. Within minutes she had fallen asleep, her red curls splayed out over the blue pillowcase and her fingers twisted in the silky blankets. In the stillness the wind could be heard tinkling in through the windows, ushering second year out and beckoning third year in.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Edited 3/26/2017


	8. Chapter 8

Rose sat in the kitchen of the Burrow one morning in early August. A mug of tea sat in front of her and she had _Mansfield Park_ propped open against a jam jar. It was her favorite time of day, early enough that most of her cousins weren't yet awake, but late enough that the parents had already left for work. Although not usually one to voluntarily wake up earlier than necessary, Rose loved summer mornings at the Burrow. They were bright and lazy and serene, the perfect backdrop for reading and Rose's favorite way to start her days.

She took a sip of tea and flipped a page of her book, tucking her right foot under her left leg as she sat up a little straighter. Rose grinned to herself as she imagined how mature she looked, drinking tea and reading in the morning just like her mother did on Sundays.

Yes, Rose Minerva Weasley was thirteen years old now and almost an adult. In less than a month she would be starting her third year at Hogwarts. Even this summer, her family had treated her less like a child. That afternoon she and Lucy were being allowed to visit Maren Thomas at her father's office in Diagon Alley all by themselves, though they had strict instructions to check in every two hours with Uncle Neville and Rose's mum had threatened to take away her broomstick if they got into any trouble. But still, they were going to Diagon Alley without a chaperone, just like Dom and Molly were allowed to do.

Rose drank some more tea and glanced at the six clocks sitting on the opposite wall. None of the clocks actually told the time, but rather the whereabouts of different family members. When she asked why Grandma Molly didn't just put everyone's names on one big clock, Rose's dad had said that originally there had only been one Weasley clock, but after Albus was born it went haywire from the sheer number of people it had to keep track of and then Grandma had made one for each immediate family. She looked at the Potters' clock and saw that Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny and Teddy Lupin were all at work. The other clocks told her that every adult was working except Uncle George who was travelling. Victoire was at work and all the other cousins' clock hands were pointed at _Home_.

Rose found the hand engraved with her name and smiled. The Burrow was as much her home as anywhere else. It was where she had grown up with all her cousins, it was where she spent holidays. Sometimes she felt more comfortable at her grandmother's house, surrounded by her family, than at her family's own house.

Creaky footsteps echoed from the stairs and announced someone's imminent arrival. Rose tore her gaze from the clocks and glanced over her book towards the hallway. A moment later Scorpius Malfoy appeared, dressed in sweatpants and a grey t-shirt, his blond hair ruffled from sleep.

"Oh," he said when he saw her, turning a faint shade of pink. He trained his eyes on something past her shoulder and said stiffly, "Sorry, I didn't think anyone else was awake."

Rose groaned inwardly but kept her face neutral. "Don't worry," she said levelly, picking up her teacup and draining the rest of its contents in one swallow. "I was just going anyways." She grabbed her book and deposited her empty cup in the sink before sweeping out of the kitchen, taking care not to look in Scorpius' direction.

Albus had decided to invite Nathan and Scorpius to the Burrow for a week. Rose had secretly hoped he would change his mind but had held her tongue, not wishing to argue with Al over his friends. It was the fourth day of the three boys' stay and Rose's patience with Scorpius Malfoy had already worn thin. Nathan was perfectly friendly, joking and laughing with her and joining in quidditch games. Scorpius ignored her. He would play chess with Lucy and throw the quaffle around with Al, but to Rose he was nothing but stiff and cordial.

As she ran up the steps to her room Rose tossed her hair and decided she officially didn't care what Scorpius Malfoy thought of her or why he seemed to like all her cousins perfectly fine but not her. She was thirteen years old and almost an adult; she had no time for the childish antics of a prat like that.

Rose walked into the room she shared with Lily and Lucy and checked the clock on the bedside table. Deciding it was late enough to wake Lucy, she walked over to her cousin's bed. After a moment's deliberation Rose bent her knees and catapulted herself onto Lucy, laughing loudly at her cousin's screech of surprise.

" _What in Circe's name—_ " Lucy shrieked, bolting up into a sitting position and wiping hair from her face. When she caught sight of Rose nearly doubled over with laughter she glared and crossed her arms. "That wasn't funny, Rosie!"

"Oh—but—Luce—" Rose gasped, sliding off the bed and clutching her chest as her shoulders shook from mirth. "Your face! Oh that was beautiful."

"You're annoying," Lucy mumbled, flopping back down on her mattress and stretching her arms above her head.

"What's happening?" Lily Potter asked sleepily, rolling over in her bed and peering at her older cousins through bleary eyes. "Rosie, why are you on the floor?"

"She just attacked me," Lucy said sourly, sitting up again and rubbing her eyes.

"I didn't attack you," Rose said. "I woke you up."

"By jumping on me!"

Rose shrugged and stood up. "It was funny. But get up, Lucy! We're going to Diagon Alley soon to meet up with Maren and Allie."

"Oh, Merlin I almost forgot about that!" Lucy cried, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and scrambling to her feet. "What time is it? Do you think I have time to take a shower? Did Grandma say when we're flooing over there?"

"I haven't seen her yet this morning," Rose said. "It's not that late, I don't think we're flooing to Uncle Neville's until after lunch."

Lucy hurried and took her shower and got dressed while Rose sat in the room and pestered Lily into getting out of bed. By the time Lucy was ready and Lily had grudgingly gotten dressed, it was early afternoon and the three girls trooped down to the kitchen.

Grandpa Arthur sat at the kitchen table fiddling with a new device Rose's mother had gotten him.

"Hello, girls," he greeted them, looking over his glasses and smiling. He wore a tattered hat over his nearly bald head and his soft button down shirt had patches on the elbows.

"Hi, Grandpa," they chirped, dropping into the seats by him.

"Dears, are you hungry?" Grandma Molly's voice called from the living room. They heard her soft footsteps padding down the hallway and within moments Molly Weasley waddled into the kitchen, holding a half-finished piece of knitting and already waving her wand about. "I'll get you some sandwiches. Rosie, Lucy, do you have everything you'll need for Diagon Alley? I told Neville you'd be over soon."

"Yes, Grandma," the girls chanted.

"Excellent," she replied, levitating a plate of freshly made sandwiches over to the table. "And Arthur, what did I say about tinkering with that contraption at the table? You don't know what it is or how it works and I won't have anyone getting electrocuted in the house again! That was a horribly embarrassing trip to St. Mungo's, don't you remember?"

"Molly, this one isn't dangerous," Grandpa said. "Look, it doesn't even come apart! But that reminds me," he turned eagerly to Rose and held up the device so she could see it. "Rosie, do you know how this works? Your mother gave it to me, said it's some sort of electric book, except there are hundreds of them in there. Tell me, how do they get the books in there? And she said you can buy more just by pressing a button, is there some sort of summoning charm and shrinking charm put on them so they fit behind the screen?"

"Er, I don't think so, Grandpa," Rose said, smothering a giggle. "I don't know how it works really, but it uses a computer, not magic."

"Ah, yes!" Grandpa Arthur said enthusiastically, beaming down at the small tablet in his hands. "Your mum explained those to me as well, but how does it store these books? Where do they go then if they're not inside the machine?"

"Er—" Rose faltered, taking a sandwich from the tray and biting into it. "I duh'o."

"Rose Minerva, don't talk with your mouth full!" Grandma Molly admonished.

Rose hastily swallowed her bite and smiled sheepishly at her grandmother. "Sorry," she said.

She and Lucy ate two sandwiches apiece and then meandered to the living room.

"Are you ready to go?" Grandma Molly called, hurrying in behind them and counting out coins into her palm.

The two girls nodded. Grandma stuffed a few coins into a small bag and handed it to Lucy. "Here's five galleons," she said. "That should be plenty for any sweets or drinks you want to get. And remember to check in with your Uncle Neville every so often, if he doesn't hear from you for a while he'll send an owl to your parents. And stay out of trouble in the Alley! Don't go anywhere you shouldn't, don't talk to strangers, and don't buy anything from those street vendors."

"Yes Grandma," Rose and Lucy said mechanically, exchanging a look.

"Alright, just be safe please, girls," Grandma Molly said, patting each of them on the cheek affectionately. She took a small stone pot from beside the fireplace and opened it, holding it out to Rose and then Lucy. "Remember to speak very clearly!" she exclaimed.

Rose took a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire before stepping into the emerald flames. "The Leaky Cauldron!" she shouted, making sure to enunciate. Uncle Harry had told all the Weasley children about the time he had accidentally flooed to Knockturn Alley, which had effectively scared them all into being extra careful when calling out their destinations. Rose felt her body spin around and then the living room disappeared from view. Dozens of room flew past and she continued to spin about until stopping abruptly in the fireplace in what she recognized to be the Leaky Cauldron.

Her knees buckled slightly at the quick stop and Rose fell forward onto the stone floor, managing to land on all fours and not her face.

"Are you alright, Rosie?" Aunt Hannah called, rushing forward and helping Rose to her feet. "It can be tricky the first few times."

"I'm fine," Rose sputtered, brushing soot off her jeans and shaking hair from her eyes.

A second later there was a faint _whoosh_ and Lucy appeared, falling out of the fireplace just as Rose had a moment earlier.

"Good, you're both here," Aunt Hannah muttered, helping Lucy to her feet and leading the girls to the counter, where several bar patrons sat. "Do you want anything to drink? Neville's upstairs with Simon, be sure to stop by and say hello sometime today."

"No we just had lunch," Lucy said. "And we'll make sure to see him before we leave."

"Excellent," Aunt Hannah said, walking behind the bar and grabbing a bottle of gillywater, which she handed to an elderly witch in front of her. "And where are you planning to go?"

"We're meeting Maren and Allie at Maren's dad's office at noon," Lucy rattled off. "And then we're going to get ice cream and maybe come here for a butterbeer."

"Maren's father is Dean Thomas the solicitor, right?" Aunt Hannah asked.

Lucy nodded.

"Oh, good, his office is just a bit up the street there, next to Madame Malkin's. Did your grandmother give you money for ice cream?"

Lucy held up the small coin purse.

"Good, good," Aunt Hannah nodded, taking out her wand and casting a cleaning charm on the bar top. "If you run into any trouble or need something, just come back here and Neville or I will help, understand?"

"Yes, Aunt Hannah," they sang.

"Alright, it's almost noon, why don't you go ahead to meet your friends."

The two Weasley girls waved goodbye and skipped out onto the cobblestone street, basking in the glow of walking down Diagon Alley without adult supervision.

They found Mr. Thomas' office quickly. It had a small stone façade with a large door and a sign hanging over it reading: _Thomas, Goldstein, and Zabini Magical Solicitors_.

"Do we just walk in?" Lucy asked nervously, eyeing the door.

"Well we can't just stand out here," Rose shrugged. She tugged the door open and led the way into the building, which seemed to have an extension charm on it. The door led to a reception area roughly the size of Grandma Molly's kitchen, with a young witch sitting behind a large mahogany desk in the corner and chairs lining the walls.

"Can I help you girls?" the witch asked, peering over her magazine at them.

"Er—" Rose looked around, wondering what they were supposed to say.

"Oh, Margaret they're here visiting me. Hiya Rosie, Lucy!" Maren Thomas called, rushing in from an adjoining room and throwing her arms around both girls. "How are you?" she asked excitedly. "I feel as though I haven't seen you in ages!"

"We're brilliant," Rose answered, returning the hug. "How about you? And is Allie here yet?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Maren said. "I've mostly been hanging around here for the summer, it's much more interesting than being stuck at home."

"You're so lucky," Rose groaned. "I wish we got to spend all summer here."

"At least you're at the Burrow," Maren said. "And you have all your cousins."

"Maren?" A man's voice rang out from the room Maren had just vacated. "Have your friends arrived?"

"Yes, Dad!" Maren shouted, releasing Rose and Lucy before grabbing their hands and dragging them across the reception area and into the adjoining room.

Mr. Thomas's office was spacious. One of the walls was covered completely with bookshelves which housed dozens of thick, leather bound tomes with titles such as _The British Quidditch League Code of Conduct: Version 364.2 Sections 1200a-1299p_ and _The Updated, All-Inclusive and Annotated List of Banned French Substances_. The opposite wall was taken up almost entirely by an enormous filing cabinet.

"Hello," Mr. Thomas said pleasantly, looking up from the piece of parchment he had been reading and smiling at the girls from behind his desk. He pushed out his chair and stood up, moving around the desk and holding a hand out towards Lucy. "I'm Dean Thomas, Maren's dad. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you as well," Lucy said primly, shaking Mr. Thomas' hand. "I'm Lucy Weasley."

"And I'm Rose Weasley," Rose said, taking the hand offered to her and puffing out her chest a bit as she shook it. She had never had an adult shake her hand before.

"I'm glad you could come visit today," Mr. Thomas said, returning to his seat. "Maren talks an awful lot about you both. And Rose, I heard you play quidditch as well?"

"I do," Rose said proudly. "Maren and I are trying out for the Ravenclaw team together again this year."

"Excellent," Mr. Thomas replied. "I'll have to owl your dad about getting us some Ravenclaw apparel in that case."

"Rose is a brilliant keeper," Maren said. "She almost beat out a seventh year for the position last year."

Mr. Thomas nodded and gave Rose an appraising look. "That's impressive," he said. "And a good keeper is key to a successful quidditch team. Rubbish keeping can ruin an otherwise fantastic team."

"That's what Aunt Ginny says," Rose replied. "She always told us that no matter how great of a seeker or chasers another team has, if their keeper is horrible they don't stand a chance."

Mr. Thomas chuckled. "Yes, well I dare say she would know better than any of us."

Rose grinned and Maren looked at the clock on her father's desk. "Blimey, it's nearly time to meet Allie!" she cried.

"Where are you meeting her?" Mr. Thomas asked.

"Florean Fortescue's," Maren answered. Her father nodded and dug in his pocket for a moment, taking out a palm full of sickles which he handed to his daughter. "Come back and let me know before you go anywhere else," he said sternly. "And tell Allie I said hello."

"I will!" Maren chirped, already walking towards the door.

Rose and Lucy followed their friend out of the office and into the street. They skipped down the cobblestone, past the colorful shops and harried adults, until they reach Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, identifiable by the large red and white striped awning over its door. The real Florean Fortescue had died a long time ago, but the owner of the ice cream shop had kept the name on the front as a memorial to the beloved ice cream man. It was now considered a historical landmark.

Maren pushed open the door and the three girls walked into the ice cream shop. It wasn't long before they found Allie sitting at a large table, holding an enormous cone in one hand and waving wildly with the other.

"Hello!" she called, peering around her ice cream and grinning at them.

"Hi!" the other three chirped. They walked over and took turns giving Allie one armed hugs, being careful not to tip over her monstrous cone.

"Go get your ice cream and then we'll all chat!" the blonde said, dabbing at the sticky mint chocolate chip residue on the corner of her mouth.

Rose, Lucy and Maren laughed and obeyed. A pimply teenaged wizard took their order at the counter. Lucy and Maren both asked for cones while Rose got a banana split.

"How're you, Allie?" Lucy asked when they returned, sliding into their chairs and balancing their food.

"Great," Allie said, licking around the base of her cone. "My parents and I went to Greece for two weeks and it was amazing. I almost didn't want to come home."

"I wish I got to go to Greece," Rose said enviously, shoveling a large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "I've just been stuck at home all summer."

"But your whole family is at your grandmother's now, aren't they?" Maren asked, forgoing all attempts at primness and taking a bite right out of her vanilla ice cream. "At least you have that."

"Yes, but they get irritating after a bit," Rose said. "No offense," she added hastily, patting Lucy on the shoulder.

"None taken," Lucy shrugged, licking her ice cream and daintily patting the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "You're irritating sometimes too."

"I'd love to have a big, magical family to spend holidays with," Maren said, staring intently at her cone. "I come here with Dad most days to try and stay in the wizarding world. Going home to a muggle neighborhood after spending all year at Hogwarts is so boring."

"You live in a muggle neighborhood?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," Maren sighed. "My mum's a muggle and my dad grew up with muggles, so when they got married they decided to live in a muggle neighborhood since it's what they're both familiar with."

"I didn't know that," Rose said. "So all your neighbors are muggles then?"

"Yup," Maren answered, smacking her lips. "There's not another wizarding family in the entire town. At least not one we know."

"Blimey," Rose said. "But that must be fun though, you get to watch the telly and can use computers and electricity and everything."

"Eh," Maren shrugged. "It gets boring. I'd rather be around magic. And it's hard trying to talk to my mum and Jay about Hogwarts."

"I forgot you had a brother," Lucy mused, licking a spot of ice cream off her thumb. "How old is he?"

"Eleven," Maren replied.

"Oh, so he's coming to Hogwarts this year then?" Lucy asked. "Brilliant, Rose's brother Hugo is coming this year too and so is our cousin Lily we can introduce them—"

"Er," Maren shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "He's—he's not coming to Hogwarts. He didn't get a letter."

"Oh." Lucy froze, her eyes widening and a deep flush cascading over her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think—oh how stupid of me—"

"Don't worry about it," Maren said. "Honestly, I'm not ashamed of it. I mean, our mum's a muggle and our dad's only a half blood so really it's not terribly astonishing—"

"How come you're magical then?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow.

Lucy kicked her sharply in the shin under the table.

"Ow!" Rose screeched, jumping back and dropping her spoonful of ice cream. "What? I was just wondering!"

"That's rude," Lucy hissed.

"It's okay," Maren laughed, placing an appeasing hand on Lucy's shoulder. "It's a fair question." She turned to Rose. "I don't really know. My dad looked into it a bit last year and said there's not much information on the subject, but really it's just genetics." She shrugged.

"Wow," Rose breathed. "So you and your dad are the only magical people in your family then?"

"Mhm," Maren nodded, licking around the base of her ice cream. "It's a bit lonely sometimes over the summer. Last year Dad didn't let me come here with him, and I thought I was going to go mad."

"At least now you can spend your time here," Allie said. "And if you'd like, I'll ask my parents if you can come stay with us for a bit. Usually the last few weeks of holidays we don't do anything much except sit around the house."

"Oh, that would be lovely," Maren cried, her brown eyes lighting up as she beamed at Allie. "We can do Witch Weekly quizzes and play quidditch—"

Allie made a face. "I don't know about quidditch," she said, nibbling at the remains of her cone. "But we can play gobstones and exploding snap and there's a pond near my house where I go sometimes and my mum helps me make paper birds that swim around."

"And we can talk about you-know-who," Maren said, giving Allie an exaggerated wink. Allie flushed and Rose and Lucy stared curiously.

"Are you talking about Voldemort?" Rose demanded, swiping a piece of hair from her face and squinting her eyes as though to see Maren and Allie better. "Because really, Maren, you should just say the name. Remember what Professor Binns said about that silly you-know-who rubbish causing all sorts of panic—"

"It's not Voldemort," Maren replied, grinning manically as Allie looked as though she was trying her hardest to melt into the floor, her face boiling with embarrassment. "There's just a _special person_ who has caught our dear Allison's attention."

"You mean a boy?" Lucy asked, leaning forward excitedly and almost toppling to the table. This didn't deter her and she gawked at Allie eagerly. "Ooh, who is it? Tell us, Allie, tell us."

Allie covered her scarlet face with her hands and mumbled something that sounded like "Scrapasmalloy."

"What?" Rose asked, pushing her empty bowl away and leaning closer. "We couldn't hear you."

"Scorpius Malfoy," Allie exclaimed into her hands, sinking into the chair so only her steaming forehead could be seen over the table. "Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy!"

"Really?" Rose asked, leaning back quickly and not quite succeeding in keeping the note of disbelief out of her voice as she stared at Allie. "Are you taking the mick, Allie? Of all the blokes at school, you're saying Scorpius Malfoy—"

"It's lovely!" Lucy squealed, smacking Rose in the arm and reached across the table to squeeze Allie's shoulder. "Oh, Allie! He's staying at the Burrow, you know, I can talk to him and, I dunno, put in a good word or something—"

"Oh, no, no!" Allie cried, looking up frantically. "That would seem awfully pathetic, wouldn't it? And then he would know I fancy him and he would tell his friends and everyone would make fun of me and just—no."

"Don't be silly," Lucy said. "He's not going to do anything like that and anyways, I doubt any of the boys would figure it out."

"Well—" Allie hesitated, hiding behind her hands again.

"Let her do it, Al," Maren said, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder. "Anyways, you've been writing each other all summer, it's not like he hates you."

"You've been writing?" Lucy asked, her eyes widening. "Oh, that's wonderful! You could be the first one of us to have a proper boyfriend! Rose, wouldn't that be lovely?"

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, giving a noncommittal jerk of the head in response. She didn't want to hurt Allie's feelings and consequently get yelled at by Lucy, but the idea of saying anything flattering about Scorpius Malfoy, in public no less, where they could easily be overheard by anyone, made her want to vomit up her banana split.

"Oh don't be like that," Lucy said, frowning and jabbing Rose's ribcage with her elbow.

"Ow!" Rose yelped, jumping back and rubbing her side dramatically. "I didn't say anything!"

"Exactly," Lucy retorted crisply. "You should be happy for Allie."

"I _am_ happy for her," Rose huffed. To illustrate, she tossed her hair and turned in her seat to give Allie a small smile. "I am happy for you, Allie. It's lovely that the boy you—er—enjoy talking to—likes—or—enjoys talking to you too."

"Thanks, Rosie," Allie squeaked, her face still very red as she peeked past her fingers. "He's really not a bad sort. You should get to know him more this year. I think you two would be friends if you just gave each other a chance."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves there," Rose muttered, grimacing as she turned back towards the table.

Lucy and Maren chuckled wryly at Rose's response and the four girls descended into silence.

"Er," Maren began, looking around the table. "Where should we go next? I don't much fancy

spending all afternoon in here, as much as I love ice cream."

After a few minutes debate they decided to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies so Rose and Maren could get a look at the newest Nimbus model. Chattering lightly about whether Comets or Cleansweeps were better racing brooms, the girls pushed back their chairs and filed out of the ice cream parlor. Rose bounced down the cobblestone street arm in arm with Allie, explaining the many small differences between broomstick brands and sharing her own preferences regarding handle circumference and wood type. By the time they stepped over the threshold into the quidditch store, Rose had a large grin on her face and Scorpius Malfoy was all but forgotten.

The remainder of the summer slipped by. Rose spent her days at the Burrow playing chess against her dad and quidditch against her cousins. When there weren't enough people around for a quidditch match she read and spent time with Albus and Lucy. It was a rather monotonous holiday, aside from the day Albus had to be rushed to St. Mungo's after receiving a rather nasty bite from a garden gnome, whom Albus had been dared by Rose to try and kiss.

By the last week of August Rose was ready to return to Hogwarts. She wanted to go back to sitting by the fire in Ravenclaw common room, spending evenings in her dormitory with Maren, Allie and Lucy, and most importantly, not be constantly surrounded by her family. The Burrow, despite its many rooms and additions, had begun to feel very small in those last few weeks. It was nearly impossible to find any semblance of privacy and Rose was growing desperate for a quiet space where she could read without being interrupted by an irate family member every five minutes.

Molly had received her O.W.L.s results (six O's and two E's) and promptly burst into tears; whether from happiness or disappointment nobody was quite sure. A celebration had been called for and Uncle Percy had been belligerently happy, shouting at everyone that they were going to be visiting Molly at the ministry soon enough, where she would no doubt make the Weasley name even more famous than it already was. At this, Lucy had tugged Rose upstairs and asked quietly if they could play exploding snap until all the excitement died down.

It had reached that point in the holiday where it seemed that everyone in the family was worked up or annoyed about something. Albus was angry with James and Fred for switching his soap with Mr. Hollowitz's Long Lasting Extra Bright No Fade Dye, so his entire torso and neck were a faint turquoise color. Lily was mad at Albus for refusing to play quidditch with her three days in a row. Roxanne was angry with Lily for borrowing her new shirt and spilling butterbeer on it.

The older cousins were even more high strung. Dominique spent most days bent over a stack of books, already working feverishly on quidditch lineups and extra ancient runes practice since Uncle Bill had told her just how difficult it was to become a curse-breaker for Gringotts. Vic was hardly seen as auror training took up most of her time. All in all, everyone seemed eager for the new school year to begin.

On the morning of September 1st Rose awoke to the familiar hubbub of her family getting ready to leave for King's Cross, with the adults trying to get everything packed in the cars and kids trying to locate missing items and Grandma Molly forcing everyone to eat bacon sandwiches. Rose pulled on an old Chudley Cannons jersey—a hand-me-down from her dad—and traipsed down the stairs, trying to flatten her hair as she went.

The house buzzed with motion, but Rose didn't run into anyone as she made her way through the hallway.

"Morning, Rosie," James greeted her when she walked into the kitchen. He sat at the table with two sandwiches in his hand, reading the latest issue of _Quidditch Quarterly_.

"Morning," Rose responded, snatching a sandwich off a plate in the middle of the table and stuffing the entire thing in her mouth. "Whurs ev'y'un?" she choked out, looking around the nearly deserted kitchen in confusion.

"Packing," James said, grinning at her. He flipped a page of the magazine and stretched an arm out over his head. "Though I don't know why everyone gets their knickers in such a twist over it. If one of us forgets someone you know Grandma would send it straightaway. And she'd probably send fudge too."

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, swallowing her food and taking another sandwich. "What if we left you here? D'you think she'd send you back? Because honestly I'd be okay if she just kept—"

"Shut it," James said good-naturedly, whacking her in the shoulder with the magazine. "You'd miss me."

"That's debatable," Rose shot back, though she was unable to repress a grin.

"Nah," James said, leaning back in his chair and relocating the article he had been reading. "Who else would keep Al in line? You can't do that all on your own."

"I suppose—" Rose began, but was cut off by a shrill screech.

" _James Sirius!_ " Aunt Ginny's magically magnified voice cut through the air, making the walls tremble. " _You had better have everything packed because if I get up there and that trunk is empty—_ "

James froze, his eyes widening. "Shit," he muttered, before grabbing three sandwiches off the plate and scurrying to the hallway. Rose heard the pounding of feet rushing up the stairs and James's yell of "I'm almost ready, Mum, I just have to find a few more things!"

Rose chuckled to herself and stood to make a cup of tea. She and Lucy had packed their trunks the night before, at Lucy's insistence. Rose had wanted to wait until this morning, but now she was extremely glad she had listened to Lucy.

A few minutes later Rose took her seat again at the table, this time a steaming mug of tea in front of her. She took a sip and inhaled slowly, listening to the cacophony of voices and footsteps around her. She could hear her dad yelling at Uncle George from the front hallway, something about slipping a trick sweet into his sandwich. Rose craned her neck in order to hear better, wondering if she was going to witness her dad and uncle duel.

She had just begun to imagine the absurdity of such a duel when she caught sight of someone walking slowly towards the doorway. A moment later Hugo appeared. He was dressed in jeans and a Harley the Happy Hippogriff t-shirt; his thick brown hair stuck out in the back and his brown eyes were wide.

"Morning, Hugh," Rose called, sitting back in her seat as her brother meandered towards her.

"Good morning," Hugo muttered. He climbed onto the chair next to Rose and looked at her expectantly.

"Er—" Rose faltered. "Want a sandwich?"

"No," Hugo shook his head, dropping his gaze to the table.

"How about some tea?" Rose asked uneasily, offering her mug to her brother.

"No thanks," he said, picking at a loose thread on his shirt.

"Er—alright then."

They sat in silence and Rose sipped at her tea as Hugo fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Rose continued to drink her coffee, wondering why in the world her usually loud, obnoxious brother had suddenly become so pensive.

"Rose?" Hugo asked tentatively, not looking up from his hands.

"Yeah?" Rose prompted, raising her eyebrows and setting her mug on the table.

"How—how is Hogwarts? Is it—I know you said you like it but is it—do you really like it? Will I like it?" He broke off and chewed on his lip for a moment before continuing, "Lily said Albus told her it's a little hard the first week or two and if Albus said it's hard then it must be—"

"Aw, Hugh," Rose sighed sympathetically, her face softening as she moved her chair closer to her brother's and put an arm around his shoulders. "It's not too bad. It's—it's different, for sure. It's not the same as being home with Mum and Dad."

A loud crash sounded from above them and Rose and Hugo both looked up at the ceiling as though expecting it to fall in. It didn't, but they heard Aunt Ginny shouting at James a moment later.

"But will I like it?" Hugo resumed, drawing Rose's attention away from the quivering ceiling. He looked at her worriedly and dragged a hand through his hair, making it stick out even more. "What if I get there and I don't like being there? And what if Lily and I are in different houses?"

"Don't worry about that," Rose said firmly, doing her best impression of Victoire and hoping she was succeeding. She gave Hugo an awkward pat on the shoulder. "Even if you two are in different houses it's not—well, look at me and Lucy and Albus. We're still best friends and Al's not in Ravenclaw."

"I suppose," Hugo said, chewing his lip. "I know everyone says Hogwarts is fun and you make new friends, but Rosie, what if I never see you or Lily or Albus or anyone? What if I don't make friends? And Mum won't be there to read to me at night and I won't get to watch quidditch matches with Dad—"

"I'll read to you if you want, Hugh," Rose said. "Or we'll ask Dom to do it. She read to me and Lucy last year, did you know that? And Vic did it the year before."

"No, I didn't know that," Hugo replied, looking at Rose with interest. "How—"

" _Rose!_ " Hermione's voice screamed from the hallway. "Rose Minerva! Are you awake? I swear to Merlin if I get up there and you're still in bed—"

"I'm in the kitchen, Mum!" Rose hollered, retracting her arm from Hugo's shoulder. The two siblings exchanged an exasperated look as their mother's footsteps pattered towards them.

"There you are!" Hermione exclaimed upon entering. "Oh and Hugo's here too, I thought you were both still in bed—no one had seen you and we're leaving in twenty minutes." She dragged a hand through her bushy hair and closed her eyes for a moment as Aunt Angelina's shouts drifted over from outside, where it seemed Fred had tried to sneak a garden gnome into James' trunk.

"This family is driving me insane," Hermione murmured absently, pressing a finger to her temple and pressing her lips together. Rose and Hugo both laughed and they only laughed harder when their mother's eyes flew open and her head snapped up to look at them. "Don't repeat that!" she said, reverting back to stressed-out mother mode and straightening her shirt. "You know I love everyone very much. It's just a bit—overwhelming sometimes."

"We know, Mum," Rose said, sliding off her chair and putting her mug in the sink.

"Why don't you two go get your trunks and bring them down?" Hermione said. "We should start getting everyone rounded up soon anyways, it's nearly time to go."

Rose and Hugo scampered upstairs to retrieve their things. When they came back down, it was to find the family all gathered in the front hall, preparing to leave.

"Ready, you two?" Uncle Harry called, grinning over Uncle George's head.

"Ready!" Rose said. Next to her, Hugo simply nodded.

"Excellent," Uncle Harry replied. He took out a jingling set of keys from his pocket and held them up over his head, shouting, "Alright, everyone get into your assigned cars! And James, Fred, you two may not sit next to each other. I've only just got that stain out of the backseat."

The family flooded out of the Burrow, the children all pausing at the threshold to give Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Molly a hug goodbye. Rose stepped onto the porch and was mentally running through her list of books for the year to be sure she had remembered to pack all of them (she had) when she felt a clammy hand clamp onto her own.

"Can I sit by you?" Hugo asked, his fingers twisting nervously against her palm.

"Er," Rose hesitated, glancing over towards the cars. She had promised Albus and Lucy she would sit with them. She glanced over towards Uncle Harry's car, where Lucy, Albus, and Lily were waiting, and then back at her brother. "Of course," she said warmly, giving his hand a squeeze. "Come on," she pulled him gently away from the house and towards their cousins, "we can sit by Albus and Lily. You two can ask us all the questions you want."

Hugo didn't respond, but his grip on Rose's hand tightened and a small, nervous smile graced his features as they made their way towards the car.

"Are you nervous?" he whispered to Lily when they were seated in the back seat of Uncle Harry's magically enlarged Ford Fusion. Hugo and Lily sat next to each other, with Rose on the other side of Hugo and Albus on the other side of Lily.

"Yes," Lily breathed, a crease forming between her eyebrows as she glanced from Albus to Hugo. "But Al said it's nothing to worry about."

Hugo nodded and looked back at Rose. "I think it will be alright," he said.

Platform 9 ¾ was as loud and chaotic as always when the Potter-Weasley brood emerged from the barrier. Hogwarts students milled about, shouting at friends and saying hurried goodbyes to parents. There were tall seventh years who barely looked back at their families as they ran to greet friends and small, nervous first years clinging to their mothers' arms.

Rose took her trunk and Aslan's cage off the trolley and stood with her family. Dom and Molly had already left to find their friends and James and Fred were saying goodbye to their parents.

"Stay out of trouble!" Aunt Ginny said sternly to James, narrowing her eyes. "If I get another letter saying you're causing trouble—"

"Mum, I never cause trouble," James said with a grin. "I provide entertainment."

"Well if I get another letter saying you're providing entertainment you're going to get a howler," Aunt Ginny replied, pursing her lips. James' face paled and he gave his mother a swift nod before turning to give his dad a hug.

Rose's eyes drifted to Hugo, who stood beside her and was clutching onto their mother's arm as though his life depended on it.

"Ready, Hugh?" Ron asked from behind them, clapping Hugo on the shoulder.

"I think so," Hugo said quietly, turning around nervously.

"You're going to have a great time," Ron said, kneeling down so his face was level with his son's. "Really, mate, I know it's scary, but you'll settle in before you know it and then you won't even want to come home because you'll be having so much fun."

"Are you sure?" Hugo asked tentatively, looking between his parents and sister.

"Yeah," Rose said encouragingly. Her dad gave her an appreciative smile and she straightened, gaining confidence from the acknowledgement. She put a hand on Hugo's shoulder and squeezed. "You're going to love Hogwarts."

"That's what I've just told Lily," Uncle Harry said from where he stood a few feet away. He had Lily tucked tightly into his side and was grinning at her reassuringly.

"Our two babies are going to school," Hermione said, wrapping an arm around Hugo.

"Mum!" Hugo cried, trying to wiggle out of her grasp.

"Oh, hush, I've been so good about it," Hermione said, tightening her grip. "I'm just going to miss you is all."

The warning whistle came and Rose jumped, looking hurriedly over her shoulder at the scarlet steam engine. "We should get on," she said, turning to her dad.

"Have a good year, Rosie," Ron said, pulling her in for a hug and resting his chin on her head. "We'll miss you."

"Bye, Dad," Rose answered, squeezing him in return.

"Goodbye, sweetheart," Hermione said, giving Rose a one armed hug (Hugo had refused to let go of her arm).

"Bye, Mum."

"Goodbye, Hugo," Ron said loudly, holding out his arms. Hugo leaned forward and let his dad wrap him in a hug. Rose watched happily as her dad leaned down to whisper something quietly to Hugo, which made the young boy smile widely as he pulled away.

"You promise?" Hugo asked, watching his dad intently.

"Swear on my signed Melvin Garg quaffle," Ron said solemnly.

Hugo grinned and turned to Hermione, who pulled him tightly to her and ran a hand through his hair. "Bye my sweet boy," she said.

"Mum," Hugo groaned, though without much conviction.

"I'm sorry, love, this is what mothers do."

"It's alright, I suppose," Hugo said. Neither mother nor son moved for several seconds until the second warning whistle sounded and Rose put a hand on Hugo's shoulder.

"Er, Hugh, we need to get on the train."

"Oh!" Hermione cried, releasing Hugo quickly and immediately turning around to take his trunk from the trolley. She swept a hand over her eyes and hurriedly wiped it on her jeans. "Here's your trunk, dear," she said, heaving the heavy luggage onto the ground. "Dad'll help you get it on the train."

Ron took Hugo's trunk in one hand and Rose's in the other and walked to the steam engine, where he quickly deposited both.

"Alright, mate," he said to Hugo, giving him one last pat on the shoulder. "Make sure you write. And don't get into trouble, or else Rosie will tell us and we'll have Aunt Ginny send you a howler."

"Ron!" Ginny snapped from a few feet away, where she had been giving Lily a hug goodbye. "Don't make me do your dirty work for you. Send your own howlers."

"She'll do it," Ron whispered to his kids, grinning at their identical looks of horror.

Rose quickly hugged Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny goodbye and then jumped on the train, followed closely by her brother and cousins.

"Where do we sit?" Lily asked.

"With all the cousins," Lucy answered kindly, taking hold of Lily's hand and marching down the corridor. Rose nudged Hugo in the shoulder and they followed, with Albus behind them.

The Weasley compartment was already almost full, as they were the last to arrive. Lucy slid the door open and they were greeted with a welcoming cry.

Dominique and Molly sat near the window, where they were playing exploding snap with Louis and Roxanne. James and Fred sat closest to the door and Lily let go of Lucy's hand to climb into the seat next to her eldest brother, who threw an arm over her shoulder and immediately began telling her of his greatest escapades at Hogwarts.

Rose slid into the seat beside Fred. Albus crammed in next to her, half on her lap, while Lucy and Hugo managed to squeeze in next to Lily. It was not a comfortable arrangement, as there were ten cousins in the tiny compartment, and Rose quickly lost feeling in her right leg from Albus' weight, but she couldn't help but smile as the train rumbled through the countryside.

"Ready to go back?" Fred asked, nudging her in the rib.

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "I think it'll be a good year."

"Third year is fun," Fred replied. "You get to go to Hogsmeade and take new classes. And you don't have O.W.L.s or anything to worry about."

"Are you worried for O.W.L.s?" Rose asked.

"A little," Fred shrugged. "Don't want my mum to murder me, so I can't fail. But what classes are you taking this year? I realized the other day I never got around to asking you."

"Ancient runes and care of magical creatures," Rose said proudly, her grin broadening as she thought of the courses she would be studying. It had been a difficult process, deciding which subjects to pick up. In the end she had decided on ancient runes because of her partiality to reading and the fact her mother had an entire shelf in their house dedicated to runes, and care of magical creatures because Fred seemed to enjoy the class so much.

"That'll be fun," Fred mused, putting an arm around her shoulder. "And you'll like care of magical creatures."

"I hope so." Rose glanced around the compartment and her eyes landed on Hugo, who was looking out the window with a look of apprehension.

"Alright, Hugh?" she called out.

"Mhm," Hugo murmured, his eyes snapping back to them.

"Are you ready to be sorted?" Fred asked, grinning at Hugo and looking towards James.

"What about being sorted?" Lily snapped, looking apprehensively at James. "You said we just had to try on the hat!"

"You do," James said reassuringly, tightening his arm around her. "Don't let Fred wind you up."

The rest of the compartment's occupants raised their eyebrows and Albus exclaimed angrily, "That's not fair! Why did you tell me I had to fight the giant squid my first year?"

James shrugged. "It was funny."

"But—you—eurgh," Albus sputtered angrily, leaning shifting in his seat so his knee dug painfully into Rose's leg.

"Ow!" she squealed, shuffling her limbs around to try and get more comfortable, only to catch Fred's nose with her elbow.

"Bloody—" he grumbled, jumping away from her and accidentally smacking Louis in the shoulder.

"This family is a mess," Molly muttered, sending Dom into a fit of giggles.

Before they knew it everyone was doubled over with laughter, clutching their sides with tears streaming down their faces.

"The real question is," Dom said once she had regained her breath, "is how in the hell did we fit ten people in here? This must be some sort of record."

"Any sane group of people would have realized that trying to fit ten people into a compartment is ridiculous and would have just split up," Roxanne said wryly.

"But we never split up," Lucy said.

"No, we don't," Dom agreed. "the Weasley family is inseparable."

"And Potters!" Lily piped up.

"And Potters," Dom amended, smiling at Lily.

"Are we all supposed to hug now?" Fred whispered to Rose, pulling a face. She threw her head back and laughed, bumping into Albus.

"I don't think so," she answered. "I think that would be a bit overkill, don't you?"

"Definitely," Fred said. He raised an eyebrow and slung an arm around Rose's shoulder. "Though this entire family is a bit overkill."

"I couldn't agree more," Rose murmured, leaning across the compartment and tapping Hugo on the arm. "Having fun?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he grinned. "I like the Weasley compartment."

Rose chuckled and sat back, glancing around at her loud, ridiculous, over the top family. "Me too."

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station it was already evening and the sky had begun to darken. The cousins all clambered out of the compartment and joined the mass of students milling about the station.

Rose heard Hagrid's shouts of "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" and turned to see the gamekeeper holding a lantern and standing halfway between the train and the boats, towering over everyone else.

"You're supposed to go over to Hagrid," she said gently to Hugo, whose eyes had widened slightly.

"Dad told me first years go by boat," he said hollowly, looking slightly awed. He turned back to his sister and added in a whisper, "I'll see you at the feast, right?"

"Of course," Rose said, ruffling his hair. "And I'll be watching you get sorted."

Hugo nodded and swallowed heavily. "Do you really get to pick your house?" he asked.

Rose paused and furrowed her brow. She had heard Uncle Harry talk about the sorting hat letting him choose which house to be in, but the sorting hat hadn't asked her where she wanted to go. In fact, she hadn't heard from anyone else about being given a choice. "The sorting hat knows what it's about," she said slowly, not wanting to give her brother false hope, but also not wanting to frighten him. "It might give you a choice, but even if it doesn't that's okay. Wherever it puts you is where you belong."

"Alright," Hugo said. "I—I should go say hi to Hagrid now, shouldn't I?"

"You probably should," Rose said. Without really meaning to she reached out and pulled her brother towards her, wrapping an arm around him and squeezing.

"Hugo?" Lily's voice drifted over. Rose looked up and saw her younger cousin standing near them, James' arm still around her. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Hugo answered, disentangling himself from Rose and pulling at his shirt.

"Be careful in the boats," James said sternly to the two first years. "Don't fall in the lake. And don't worry too much about sorting," he looked at Lily and tugged a piece of her hair. "It's not too bad and we all love you no matter what house you're in."

"Okay," Lily and Hugo chirped. With one last look at their respective siblings, the two first years joined hands and tripped off towards Hagrid, who waved to them enthusiastically.

"She'll be okay in the boats, right?" James asked, his eyes following his younger sister's form. "What if something happens and the boat tips? Or what if one of the other newbies is mean to her?"

"James, she'll be fine," Rose said, fighting the urge to laugh at her cousin's fretting. She watched Hugo and Lily choose a boat and climb in, followed closely by two other children whom Rose didn't know. "Come on," she said, elbowing James in the side and nodding towards the horseless carriages, where Albus and Lucy were waiting. "Let's go. They'll be alright."

Rose entered the Great Hall with her cousins and immediately set off towards the Ravenclaw table, where Maren and Allie were already seated.

Rose dropped into the seat beside Maren with a quick "hello," and turned her attention to the large doors at the front of the hall, waiting for the first years to be led in.

She felt a sharp nudge in her ribcage and turned to see Maren grinning at her, waggling her eyebrows and nodding towards Allie, who was leaning halfway across the table and talking animatedly to Scorpius Malfoy.

"Oh, I hope something happens with them," Lucy whispered excitedly. "They would be so sweet together."

Rose crinkled her nose and mimed vomiting into her lap, which made Lucy glare and smack her in the shoulder. "Be nice!" she hissed.

Rose opened her mouth to retort, but stopped when the Great Hall doors opened and Professor McGonagall emerged, followed by a single file line of frightened looking first years.

The headmistress brought out the three legged stool and then produced a scroll of parchment from her pocket. "When I call your name," she said, "please come forward and sit. Abernathy, Tanner."

The line of first years dwindled as one by one they sat on the stool and had the sorting hat dropped on their heads. Rose clapped for each, though she kept her eyes on Hugo, who was second to last in line. His hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his robes and his eyes were fixed on his feet.

"Potter, Lily!" Professor McGonagall called out. Hugo's head snapped up and he watched as Lily bounced towards the stool. The sorting hat was placed on her head and barely a second later the rip near the brim opened wide and the hat bellowed, "Gryffindor!"

An eruption of noise came from the Gryffindor table as James, Fred and Roxanne all jumped to their feet and yelled. Rose stood up and cheered, watching as Lily handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall with a wide smile and scampered to her new house table. James got up from his seat and met her halfway, pulling her into a hug so forcefully her feet came off the ground.

When Lily was seated and the cheers had died down the sorting resumed. Hugo was biting his lip and tugging at his robes. Rose's eyes flickered from her brother to the Gryffindor table, where James and Fred were talking excitedly with Lily. For a brief moment Rose envisioned Hugo being sorted into Ravenclaw, and her being able to show him the common room and sit with him at meals and read to him when he had a long day.

"Weasley, Hugo!" Professor McGonagall called, jarring Rose out of her reverie.

"Oh, I hope he's in Gryffindor with Lily!" Lucy whispered, taking Rose's hand. "You know how much they wanted to be together."

"I hope he's here with us," Rose said, squeezing her cousin's hand.

Both girls watched with bated breath as Hugo sat down nervously on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head and Rose sucked in a deep breath.

The hat was silent for several long seconds and then, finally, the rip near the brim opened and yelled out, "Hufflepuff!"

The hall burst into cheers. Rose saw Simon Longbottom and Louis jump to their feet and shout wildly. Rose stood up too, clapping her hands and cheering until her throat hurt.

Hugo got off the stool, looking a bit dazed, and walked to the Hufflepuff table, where he sat beside Louis and Simon. Amidst the cheering, he looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Rose. She smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Hugo grinned back and waved before being brought in to a conversation with other Hufflepuff first years. Rose watched as her brother relaxed and began talking, smiling broadly at his new housemates. Rose sat down and smiled to herself. Hugo wasn't in Ravenclaw, but he was where he belonged.

* * *

Edited 3/26/2017


	9. Chapter 9

Rose decided the first morning of classes that third year was her favorite year. Hogwarts was just the same; the stone corridors were now familiar and welcoming and Rose knew how to make her way from the Great Hall to the transfiguration corridor without getting lost. It finally felt like she knew what she was doing. She hadn't even needed Dom to enlarge her books for her this year; they had learned the spell the year before in charms and Rose had beamed with pride the first night when she successfully enlarged her eighteen novels and tucked them away.

Hogwarts finally felt like home and welcomed Rose back with its warm familiarity. But third year was also full of so many new things: new classes, new teachers, and new adventures in Hogsmeade. Yes, third year was without a doubt Rose's favorite year.

The first day of classes went better than expected. Professor Flitwick had bounced over to the Ravenclaw table at breakfast and handed around schedules. Rose's face lit up when she remembered she would be starting ancient runes and care of magical creatures. And she had both classes that afternoon.

The third year Ravenclaws had potions first, which, as Lucy helpfully pointed out, meant that Rose would get her worst class over with early on. And they had charms right after, which Rose always enjoyed. Professor Flitwick did not disappoint, starting right in on cheering charms.

After lunch, Rose and Allie said goodbye to Lucy and Maren and nervously walked into the ancient runes classroom. Rose bounced on the balls of her feet and tugged at the end of her curls as she sauntered down the corridor. Allie chattered amiably about something she had heard Matthew Corner say in charms, but Rose was hardly listening. She was too busy imagining the kinds of things they were going to learn in ancient runes. She had taken the course after hearing her mother and Dominique talking about how fascinating it was, though she had also taken it so as to be able to read the impressive-looking leather bound books her mother kept on the top shelf at home.

The two girls entered the classroom to find they were the first ones to arrive. Allie looked over her shoulder and caught Rose's eye before shrugging and gesturing to the room of empty seats as though to say _you pick_.

Rose's gaze swept over the room quickly before she hiked the strap of her bag up her shoulder and wound her way to the seat right in the middle of the room and sat down. Allie followed and took the seat next to her.

"What do you think we're going to do today?" Allie leaned over and whispered.

"I dunno," Rose answered, tossing a red curl over her shoulder and watching as the Ravenclaw and Slytherin students began to trickle into the room. Some looked around eagerly, though most looked as though they simply wanted to go back to bed. "I hope we start right in, though, and not do any of those silly get-to-know you games."

"What's wrong with those games?" Allie asked, raising a blonde eyebrow. "I'd rather do those than actually start learning things the first day."

"They're dull," Rose replied. "Oh—Nathan!" she waved hurriedly at the Slytherin, who had just walked through the door, his dark eyes flickering about the room with interest. His eyes shot towards Rose and a smile spread across his face as he walked to the seat behind her and dropped his bag down.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello," the girls chirped, both twisting in their seats to look at him.

"I didn't know you were taking this class," Rose said, frowning slightly.

"Must've forgotten to mention it," Nathan shrugged. "This is great, though, we can work together on homework and you can help me study since I know you're going to be absolutely brilliant in this class and I'm going to be absolutely hopeless."

"Oh, shush," Rose waved the compliment off, though unable to hide the flush and grin which swept over her face. "You're going to do fine and you know it."

"Yes, but even you can't deny that you're going to be top of the class."

"You don't know that," Rose said, biting her lip. She couldn't resist adding cheekily, "Maybe I'll only be second."

"Like in potions," Allie chimed in.

Rose gave her a dirty look.

"That'd be something, if Scorpius beat you in two classes," Nathan said half to himself, giving Rose a knowing smirk.

"Bet he'd love that," Rose muttered, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"We'll see," Nathan said, putting his bag on the ground and setting his quill and a roll of parchment on his desk.

"Mhm," Rose murmured absently, looking towards the doorway for signs of the professor. "Wait—" her head snapped back to look at Nathan. "Is he—"

Her question was answered by Scorpius Malfoy gliding through the doorway, followed closely by a middle aged witch with short brown hair. Scorpius's eyes zeroed in quickly on Nathan and he hastily made his way to his friend, dropping into the seat behind Allie.

The two boys began talking quietly. Rose briefly considered trying to listen to their conversation but her attention was quickly monopolized by the witch, who now stood at the front of the room.

The witch surveyed the class for a second and then took out her wand and flicked it so the door slammed shut.

The hum of conversation died down and the third years all looked up at the witch, who smiled coolly back at them.

"Welcome to ancient runes," she said. Her voice was soft but carried easily across the room. "My name is Professor Scribner. Now, I expect all of you have some idea of what kind of material we cover in this class or else you would not have signed up to take it. However, for those of you who don't know, or for those of you who are mistaken, allow me to explain."

Rose and Allie turned to exchange identical looks of apprehension and excitement.

Professor Scribner continued, "Ancient runes is a subject with more depth and complexity than any of you realize. Indeed, it is a subject often overlooked. The runes are more than just pictures that represent words. The ancient runes are a series of hieroglyphics that represent ideas, concepts, and feelings."

She paused and fixed the class with a severe look that Rose privately thought Aunt Minnie would be rather proud of.

"Translating them is not as easy as merely finding the corresponding word and writing it down. Translating the runes requires a great deal of intellect, of understanding, of insight. When you are translating, you are not merely taking the hieroglyphics and transcribing them into English. You are interpreting them. You are retelling a story. You are giving them meaning. In this class I hope you will all be given the tools to do so with care and with skill. If this is not what you thought you had signed up for, I encourage you to leave now and spare yourself the headache.

The class sat like statues; nobody moved. The only sound was a rustling of parchment and an echoing cough.

"Very well," Professor Scribner said, turning to the blackboard and waving her wand so that a series of expertly drawn runes appeared. "We will begin straightaway. No sense in wasting valuable class time. Everybody take out a piece of parchment and a quill. We will start with the basics: the runes for family members and friends."

The class worked diligently throughout the hour. When the bell rang and signaled the end of class Rose sat in a bubble of excitement. Her hands were blackened with ink from taking notes so quickly and her blue eyes shone with excitement.

"Wasn't that fascinating?" she said to Allie as they walked through the corridor together. "I mean, all those things were just pictures before and now they mean something! Isn't that amazing? And she said that maybe next week we'll already be getting into the past tense—blimey, I reckon by the end of this term we'll be able to read most of the basic books! And can you believe that one—"

"Yes, it was interesting," Allie said quickly, cutting Rose's speech off. "Though I think I prefer charms. It just feels so odd to be in a class that doesn't require a wand."

"Oh, I suppose," Rose said, her voice trailing off slightly as she swallowed her other exclamations over the class. "Hey," she perked up and pointed down the hall. "I think that's Maren and Lucy!"

"Are you sure?" Allie asked, craning her neck and squinting to try and make out the figures.

"I don't know—er—LUCY!" Rose stood on her toes and bellowed down the hall. The figure at the end stopped and spun around. "Yeah, it's her," Rose said happily, taking Allie by the elbow and dragging her down the corridor towards their friends.

"You shouldn't have yelled like that, Rosie," Lucy admonished when they were within earshot. "You could've gotten detention."

"No professor is going to give me detention just for yelling," Rose scoffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her eyes.

"Lyncroft might," Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we're nowhere near the transfiguration corridor right now. I think it's alright."

"Well—oh, nevermind. You're not going to listen anyways. How was ancient runes?"

"Brilliant!" Rose breathed, following Lucy down the corridor towards defense against the dark arts. "Absolutely wonderful. Dom wasn't kidding it's the most interesting thing in the world and we started right off—"

"Isn't Scorpius in that class?" Maren asked loudly, waggling her eyebrows at Allie, who flushed and looked pointedly at the wall.

"I suppose he was," the blonde answered primly.

"Yeah, he sat behind us with Nathan," Rose said off-handedly, groaning internally at the direction the conversation was going. "But anyways," she said doggedly, trying to steer them back to talking about the wonders of ancient runes, "Professor Scribner is quite interesting too. Did you know she actually lived in Egypt for five years and studied with a well-known professor there?"

"He sits behind Allie?" Maren asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet and grabbing Allie by the shoulder, spinning her around. "He chose to sit behind you? Do you know what that could mean?"

"I think it means he wanted to sit next to his friend," Allie responded irritably, twisting a lock of hair around her index finger.

"Or he wanted to be close to you."

"Or he didn't even look at me and just wanted to talk to Nathan Nott."

"Depends how you look at it."

"Urgh," Allie groaned, verbalizing Rose's sentiments. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "Can we not talk about it? I just said I think he's fit, alright? I don't care if he decides he wants to sit on my lap next class!"

"Oh, I think you would care," Maren smirked.

"Shut it!" Allie snapped, looking over her shoulder as they walked into the defense against the dark arts classroom. "Someone could hear."

"He might already know we're talking about him," Rose said, looking around to see Allie's red face.

"Did any of you tell him?" Allie hissed as they took their seats near the back of the room. Her head whipped around, searching for the boy in question.

"Of course we didn't!" Lucy said quickly, shooting Rose a glare. "I don't think that's what Rosie meant. And I doubt he knows, Allie."

Allie looked as though she was going to respond when a dull thud told them Professor Spinnet had closed the door. The defense against the dark arts professor took her place at the front of the room and smiled.

"Hello, everyone!" she called out, gazing around the room as though sizing them up. "We're just going to start in on today's lesson. If everyone could please take out your books and turn to page four—"

"You should just snog him in the middle of class one day," Maren whispered to Allie as she tugged her book out of her bag.

Rose cringed at the mental image of Scorpius Malfoy snogging anybody. Beside her, Allie whacked Maren in the shoulder with her book.

"You lot are useless," the blonde muttered.

"Hey!" Lucy exclaimed, frowning. "I'm trying to help!"

"Well, alright, you're not useless," Allie conceded. "But you two," she gestured between Maren and Rose, "you're hopeless."

"Wouldn't want to be anything else, would we, Rose?" Maren asked with a grin.

Rose snorted and smiled down at her textbook. "Absolutely not."

The first week of classes flew by. By the time the weekend came around Rose was fully entrenched in ancient runes, checking out books from the library and flipping idly through them in amazement while Lucy and Albus struggled through homework.

They sat in the library one afternoon, accompanied by Nathan and Scorpius. Rose was buried in a thick volume, whose title was a mystery to everyone as it was in runes and Rose couldn't find the translation anywhere. Nathan and Scorpius were working through the translation exercises Professor Scribner had set for homework and Lucy and Albus were both wrestling with a transfiguration essay.

"Rose?" Nathan asked, looking up from his parchment.

Rose glanced up, blowing a piece of hair out of her face as she did so. "Hm?" she asked, her eyes already wandering back to the book.

"Did you do this already?" Nathan asked, gesturing towards his homework and grimacing. Beside him, Scorpius paused and looked up as well.

"I can't find number three anywhere, I don't think it's in our book at all," Nathan complained.

"Oh, I did that in class the day Professor Scribner assigned it," Rose said airily, already turning back to her book, ignoring Scorpius Malfoy's staring eyes boring into her head. "Number three isn't in the book you have to look it up in one of the more advanced dictionaries, but it means an estranged grandparent."

"That's oddly specific," Nathan said, picking up his quill and scratching in the answer. Beside him, a crease appeared between Scorpius's eyebrows as he frowned.

"Are you sure that's what it means?" he suddenly asked, his silver eyes shooting back up to stare inquiringly at Rose again.

Rose looked up disdainfully from her book, not bothering to hide her irritation. "Yes, I'm sure," she said loftily. Across the table, she could see Lucy raising an eyebrow in warning. Rose ignored this. "After I looked it up I asked Professor Scribner just to be sure. She said that's an accurate translation."

"So it might not be the only possible translation, then?" Scorpius asked swiftly.

Rose bristled and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from muttering something rude. Taking a deep breath, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and forced her face into a neutral expression. "You heard what Professor Scribner said the first day of class," she said. "Translating runes isn't as easy as finding a corresponding word in English and writing it down. The symbols represent _ideas_ not words. So it could represent something that corresponds to a couple different words. Or it could represent something that doesn't have its own word in English."

Scorpius continued to stare at her and Rose felt her face heat up, though for what reason she had no idea.

Nobody spoke and Rose's face simmered as she wrapped a piece of hair around her finger and stared defiantly back at Scorpius, refusing to give him the satisfaction of discomfiting her.

"How did you remember all that?" Nathan finally asked, breaking through the tension.

Rose tore her gaze away from Scorpius. "Er," she murmured, biting her lip as her face grew even warmer. "I just listened to Professor Scribner. And I thought what she said was interesting—so I remembered it."

"Without even trying?"

"I suppose so."

"Wow," Nathan breathed, looking at Rose curiously. "You're really something special, Rose."

"Yes, well," Lucy cut in, folding up her essay daintily and taking out her potions book. "We all know Rose is special and she knows it too. There's no reason to inflate her ego right now, Nathan. It'll make her impossible to live with."

"Hey!" Rose cried, turning to give her cousin an offended frown.

Lucy simply shrugged.

"She didn't mean that, Rosie," Albus said consolingly, giving her a small smile over his essay.

"She better not have," Rose grumbled. She glanced around the table and saw Nathan and Albus looking at her amusedly. She stuck her tongue out at them and picked up her quill.

Nathan let out a chuckle and went back to his work, but Albus continued to watch Rose with a grin on his face.

"Stop that," she demanded, trying and failing to return to her book.

Albus simply laughed and shook his head.

" _What in the name of Aberforth Dumbledore's pet goat is so funny Albus Severus?"_

"Nothing, nothing," Albus said quickly, the grin sliding off his face as he took in Rose's red face and gritted teeth. He raised his hands in mock surrender and gave her the small smirk James gave Aunt Ginny when he was trying to talk his way out of trouble. "It's just that—you know, Rosie, for someone who claims to not put effort into schoolwork, you seem to have done quite a bit for ancient runes."

"I just think it's interesting," Rose said defensively.

"I know, I know" Albus replied quickly, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "It's just a bit—strange—to see you putting so much time into a class. That's all."

"It's true," Lucy piped up, evidently deciding to set her irritation aside. "You're always the one who does the work and then goes off and reads for hours."

"There's nothing wrong with that—" Rose began hotly, closing her book and straightening in her seat the way her mother did before calmly explaining to someone why they were wrong.

"They're not saying there is anything wrong with it," Scorpius cut her off.

Rose's sentence died in her throat and she turned in surprise to see Scorpius looking at her as though she were a two-headed gnome.

"If you would just listen to what they're saying," he continued quietly, "they're not saying anything insulting. They're merely telling you it's surprising that you're putting in so much time when generally you only do the minimum amount of work necessary."

"Well—"

"Maybe you ought to listen to people a bit more instead of just hearing what you want to hear," Scorpius said firmly.

Rose blinked rapidly and stared as the blond boy dipped his quill in the inkpot and turned back to his homework.

Nathan Nott looked between Scorpius and Rose and then puffed out his chest and exclaimed loudly, "So, Al, how's the quidditch team looking this year?"

Another week passed. Rose finished reading _Persuasion_ and proudly told Lucy she had now read every Jane Austen book and wanted to read _Jane Eyre_ next. Between her muggle novels she continued checking out ancient runes books from the library, harboring a secret wish to teach herself enough of the material to sit the O.W.L. examination a year early. That would make her parents proud. And it would show Scorpius Malfoy.

Quidditch tryouts were scheduled for that weekend. Friday night found Rose sitting beside the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room, thumbing through _Pride and Prejudice_ for the umpteenth time and eating some of Grandma Molly's fudge. Around her, various Ravenclaws were scattered throughout the room. Some sat and read, like her, while others did homework or wrote letters or chattered with friends or played gobstones. Rose gazed around the room and smiled to herself before turning back to her book. There really was no other house she would rather be in.

Behind her, someone gently tugged one of her curls and Rose looked over her shoulder to find Dom standing over her, carrying several pieces of parchment and looking as though she wanted nothing more than to go to bed.

"Hey, Rosie," Dom said wearily, giving her younger cousin a small smile. "Mind if I join you?"

Rose shook her head and scooted over so the other half of the sofa was free. Dom dropped into the cushions and immediately closed her eyes.

Rose furrowed her brow and eyed her cousin, wondering if she ought to ask if Dom needed help with anything.

She needn't have worried. Dominique was never one to stay quiet about her problems.

"It's been a bloody long day," she said, turning to look at Rose. "I've spent all evening in the library, working on bloody arithmancy and quidditch lineups."

"Oh," Rose murmured, not sure what to say. She couldn't very well comfort Dom the same way she would Lucy. "Er—do you want some fudge?"

Dom blinked at her a few times and then cracked a small smile. She reached across Rose and gave her a small pat on the shoulder before snatching a piece of fudge.

"Don't mind if I do, actually," she grinned as she popped the sweet in her mouth. "Some days I wish we could bring Grandma Molly to Hogwarts with us. I always crave her cooking when I'm stressed."

"Could we ask her to come?" Rose asked, her face brightening at the idea of having continuous access to Grandma Molly's fudge and fairy cakes. "Would she do it? She could live in the tower with us, although I don't think I'd like to share a dormitory with her—"

"No, no," Dom chuckled. "We can't ask. Besides, usually if you just write her a letter and say school is tough and you've been having a hard time she'll send you a basket of sweets."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Rose demanded.

Dom shrugged. "Never thought of it."

They sat in silence for a moment. Rose flipped a page of her book. Dom shuffled her stack of parchment.

"Are you excited for quidditch tryouts tomorrow?" Dom asked, glancing at Rose.

"Er—" Rose felt her face go red and she kept her eyes on her book. "I—I dunno—I was thinking maybe I wouldn't try out this year. It was so embarrassing last year—"

"What do you mean you're not going to try out this year?" Dom snapped. She dropped her parchment on the floor and immediately rounded on Rose, her eyes wide. "Rosie, you have to try out this year. For Merlin's sake, why in the world wouldn't you try out this year? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life!"

"I just—" Rose sank further into the couch. She hadn't been planning on telling anyone that she didn't want to try out. Even Al didn't know. "It was embarrassing when I didn't make it last year," she whispered, her lip quivering at the memory.

Dom softened at this and she sat back, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Rosie," she said softly, moving closer to Rose and putting an arm around her shoulders. "I know you were upset you didn't make the team last year—"

"What if I don't make it this year?" Rose asked, all her worries tumbling forth now that she had admitted to not wanting to try out. "What if someone else comes in and they're better than me and it'll be even worse than last year and everyone will be so disappointed. Everyone told me last year I would definitely make the team this year but what if I don't? And then my dad will be upset, and so will Al and so will Aunt Ginny and so will you—"

"Rosie, stop," Dom said firmly. She bit her lip and tightened her arm around Rose. "I know it's a little nerve-wracking. But, we only told you that because we all really believe it. You're an incredibly good keeper. And I know that you're aware of that. You know that you can easily outfly almost everyone at this school."

"I suppose," Rose said feebly. She chewed the inside of her cheek and looked down at her hands.

"You know you can," Dom replied. "And you know what? Even if someone else comes in and outflies you tomorrow, which by the way I don't think will happen, no one will be upset with you. We'll be a little sad, yes, because we all want to see you play for Ravenclaw, but we won't be angry with you. You won't have disappointed anyone."

"Are you sure?" The question came out barely above a whisper. Rose was unable to keep the pleading note out of it but at the moment she didn't care.

Dominique gave her cousin a small smile and ruffled her hair. "Yes, I'm sure," she said. "You don't have to be the best at everything, Rosie. We all love you no matter what."

"Okay," Rose answered, nodding her head slightly. She was a little embarrassed by how much she had wanted to hear her cousin say those words, but at the moment the relief she felt overshadowed everything else.

"So I'll see you tomorrow morning for tryouts?" Dom asked, poking Rose in the side and smiling.

"Yes, you will," Rose nodded, her voice stronger. "And I'm going to outfly everyone else on the pitch."

Dom laughed and squeezed Rose's shoulder one last time before releasing her. "That's my girl."

Rose awoke with a start early the next morning. The third year dormitory was still dark; the sun had not yet risen. Confused, Rose looked around blearily to find what had caused her to wake up so suddenly, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found Dominique hovering over her, her blue eyes nearly bulging out her head and her strawberry blonde hair in a tight plait.

"Oh good, you're up!" she whispered, reaching out and taking Rose by the arm to pull her forcefully up into a sitting position.

"What the bloody—" Rose cried, rubbing her eyes and shaking hair from her face. She furrowed her brow and looked quickly around the dormitory. All her roommates slept soundly around her. "What—hold on—Dom? What are you doing here? What time is it?"

"It's 6:15," Dom said briskly, releasing Rose's arm and bending down over her trunk. She began rifling through the mess of clothes. "Come on! Get up! I'll find a jumper and some jeans for you, so we can leave faster—"

"Where are we going?" Rose asked, leaning over the side of her bed to poke her head towards the window. The world outside was still dark; dim streaks of orange were just beginning to creep past the horizon.

"We're going to the quidditch pitch," Dom said casually, as though it was perfectly natural for them to go to the pitch at the crack of dawn. Rose raised an eyebrow and Dom sighed, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Rosie! I want to practice with you before tryouts. We would have already been on our way out by now if you'd gotten out of bed in a timely manner."

Rose grumbled inaudibly but began getting out of bed. Now that the drowsiness was wearing off, excitement began to creep in. It was a brilliant idea, really, getting out on the pitch early. And it would show Dom that Rose was dedicated to quidditch, even if she wasn't a fast mover in the mornings.

Rose threw off her blankets and got out of bed, tugging on the jeans and jumper Dominique had succeeded in pulling from the pile of clothes. Deciding it wasn't worth it to try and wrestle her hair in a braid, Rose simply tied her mane back so it wouldn't get in her face and turned towards her cousin.

"Excellent," Dom nodded, gesturing towards the dormitory door. "Ready to go then?"

"Yes, just a mo'—wait." Rose looked up suddenly across the room, where Maren slept peacefully. "Should we wake Maren up? I know she wants to tryout and she'd like to practice too before—"

"Yes, get her up then, get her up, just hurry!" Dom said. She pushed back her sleeve and checked her watch. "Can she be dressed in five minutes?"

"Yes," Rose replied. She padded across the carpet to her sleeping bed and hesitantly reached out to shake Maren's shoulder.

Maren shot out of bed the second Rose touched her, yelling loudly, "Mmmuh—wha—Rose—Merlin's arse what's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Rose whispered, looking around frantically to be sure Lucy and Allie hadn't woken up. "Nothing's wrong, don't worry. But—er—Dom came and got me up to go throw the quaffle around a bit before tryouts and I thought you would want—"

"Oh, blimey, really?" Maren relaxed and her look of alarm was replaced with a grin. "Yes, I want to come! Give me just one minute—" she bent down and quickly extracted a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt, which she tugged on.

Within five minutes Maren and Rose were trooping down the spiral staircase, following Dom through the common room and out into the corridor.

"I think we're going to have a good turnout this year," Dom said proudly as they marched across the castle. "That's why I came and woke you up, Rosie. You probably saw that article in _Quidditch Quarterly_ last month about how practicing right before an important match or trial can vastly improve your chances of doing well, didn't you? And you did so well last year and you know Ferntail's gone now. I want to make sure you're taking advantage of all the opportunities available. And Maren, you too. I remember last year you were bloody close to making the team. And Angela and Bennett both left so I have to find two new chasers."

"Thanks for letting me tag along," Maren beamed.

"Oh, you're not tagging along," Dom scoffed with an airy wave of her hand. "I expect all my players to practice on their own as much as possible. And I have a feeling you two will be playing for me after today."

Neither girl responded to that, not wanting to say the wrong thing and jinx it.

They walked across the grounds to the broom shed. When they arrived on the quidditch pitch Dom brought out the quaffle and grinned at the two third years. "Ready for this?"

Rose thought she was going to vomit. No, Rose _knew_ she was going to vomit. It was just a question of whether she would make it to the ground first or would have to simply lean over the edge of her broomstick and hope the spectators in the stands could cast a quick shield charm.

The Ravenclaw house quidditch tryouts had been going on for nearly three hours. Twelve hopefuls remained, with two people vying for each open position. Dominique had just given a sharp blow of her whistle and ordered all the players to split up into two teams. They were going to play a scrimmage match in order to determine who made the team. There was no snitch, since Dom was the seeker and didn't need to fill the position. The match would go on until she made her decision.

Rose's stomach turned violently as she gripped the handle of her broom tighter and flew in front of the hoops. The September breeze sent her hair flying into her eyes and she could feel the sun beating down on her back. Somewhere to her left she could hear Dominique yelling out orders to play a clean game; anyone who fouled would be dismissed immediately. From far below Rose could hear the distant voices of Albus, Fred and Hugo cheering for her. Rose took a deep breath and shook the loose strands of hair from her face. She glanced to her right; Ly Scamander was holding his beaters bat and watching Dom. His dirty blond hair had gotten longer since the last time Rose had seen him. She wondered if he was impressed with her keeping skills so far. Ly turned around to survey his team. Rose looked away hurriedly and shifted her weight on her broom.

A few feet in front of her, Maren looked over her shoulder and gave Rose a grin and a swift nod which Rose feebly returned.

The screech of Dom's whistle rattled the air and Maren shot down the pitch along with the other hopeful chasers. From the other end, Scorpius Malfoy took off.

Rose sucked in a breath and squared her shoulder. Ignoring the waves crashing about her stomach, she shifted her weight on her broom and began searching for the quaffle. In her mind, her dad's voice played over and over, saying, "The trick to being a good keeper is just to watch. Watch the quaffle. Watch the player." So Rose watched.

Helena Barbaruff, a fifth year on Rose's team, scooped up the quaffle and began flying across the pitch. She was fast, but she didn't seem able to control her broom while holding onto the quaffle. Rose watched carefully as Helena tried to swerve and avoid a bludger, but dropped the quaffle. It was picked up by Maren, who shot off towards the goal hoops, ducking under other players and, at one point, nearly colliding with a fourth year girl who was a chaser on the opposing team when she tried to take the quaffle from her.

"Thatta girl!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like Fred called out from the stands.

Rose watched as Maren streaked down the pitch, leaning forward to urge her broom faster. A beater from the opposing team sent a bludger aimed at her. Rose's eyes widened as Maren continued flying, not even looking for the bludger.

Rose's head whipped from side to side frantically as she searched for the beaters. The bludger hurtled towards her friend with nothing to obstruct its path. Why wasn't Maren looking?

She was just about to call out, to scream at the beaters to do their job, when halfway down the pitch Ly Scamander turned around and saw the bludger and its target. In an instant he was off, charging towards the bludger.

He would be too late, Rose fretted, watching in horror as the bludger came closer and closer to Maren. Ly was too far away; he wouldn't make it in time.

The bludger was inches away when Maren glanced to the side. Her eyes widened and without a second of hesitation she ducked down, the bludger only grazing the ends of her hair.

Rose let out a breath and chewed the inside of her cheek. She gently swayed from side to side on her broom, gliding from the left hoop to the right one and then back again.

Across the pitch, Maren jerked the tip of her broom handle up so she was level with the hoops. The quaffle was still secured in the crook of her right arm. Milo Remington, who seemed to have improved his flying since last year, sat guarding the goals.

Maren paused for a moment and then took the quaffle in her hand and threw it to the left hoop. Milo dove and missed.

Rose allowed herself a second to swell with pride for her friend, but snapped back to attention when she saw Scorpius Malfoy snatch the quaffle out of the air and make his way down the pitch.

Rose's fingers tightened around her broom handle and she kept her eyes locked on Scorpius. He moved around to the edge of the pitch, dodging a bludger and speeding away from opposing chasers.

Matthew Corner, who had somehow made it through the beginning of tryouts and was on Scorpius's team, flew beside him. Scorpius passed him the ball.

Matthew took off, flying straight towards Rose.

Out of nowhere, a bludger came hurtling towards him; Rose saw Matthew's eyes pop as he dropped the quaffle and ducked away from the bludger.

Maren grabbed the quaffle and began racing back to the opposite goal posts. Scorpius followed quickly, leaning forward. Rose watched as he caught up with Maren and, in one motion, popped the quaffle out from her grip and caught it in his hand.

Scorpius flew back in Rose's direction. He passed the quaffle to the fourth year girl who passed it to Matthew Corner, who held onto it until Ly Scamander sent a bludger his way, at which point he hastily passed it back to Scorpius.

Rose exhaled and tapped her fingers against the wood of her broom. Scorpius's figure loomed closer and she watched him carefully. He carried the quaffle under his right arm, using his left to steer his broom. He flew closer; his silver eyes began to flicker between the three hoops behind her, deciding which one to try and get the quaffle through. As he approached the hoops, he slowed down, until he was doing little more than hovering in front of them. His head cocked to the right and his eyes darted to Rose's face, then over her shoulder.

Rose, who had begun leaning slightly to the right, straightened. She leaned forward and looked straight ahead at Scorpius as he raised his right arm.

A second later, after Scorpius had thrown the quaffle towards the center hoop, Rose's fingers connected with the hard exterior of the ball and she felt her face flush with victory. From below, her cousins and brother were stamping and cheering and Rose couldn't help the wide grin that spread across her face. Turning around, she saw Scorpius had already flown away.

"That was excellent," a voice called out from beside her. Rose turned and saw Ly Scamander hovering nearby, holding his beater's bat in one hand and giving her a thumbs up with the other.

"Oh," Rose stammered, her blush intensifying. "Er—thank you. I really just caught the quaffle—er—" she cringed inwardly and looked towards the stands, pretending to be looking for her cousins.

"Well that is your job," Ly said easily.

"I—I suppose it is," Rose answered quickly, wanting to take the beater's bat from him and bash herself over the head with it for being such a thick numbskull when he was around. "Er—we'd better get back to it though, yeah?"

"Right-o, Rosie Posie," Ly said. He gave her a small wave and flew off. Rose, trying to ignore her burning face and the fact that Ly Scamander had said she was excellent. Well, he had said her keeping was excellent, but that could also mean he thought _she_ was excellent, looked around and hastily threw the quaffle to Maren.

The scrimmage continued for another half hour. After her victory over Scorpius Malfoy, Rose saved four more goals and let in one (blast that fourth year who had managed to pull off a left feint). Milo Remington, though he nearly fell off his broom twice, managed to save three goals and let in two.

Dominique gave a shrill blast of her whistle and ordered everyone down to the ground. Rose tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and complied, landing next to Maren. The two girls grinned at each other and Rose clapped Maren on the shoulder.

"Good show of it today," Rose murmured quietly to her friend.

"I nearly dropped the quaffle during the last play," Maren whispered. " _Your boy_ sent a bludger towards me right as I was about to shoot."

"It wasn't noticeable," Rose reassured her. "You still made the goal. And he's not my boy!"

"He would be if you didn't muck it up every time he talked to you."

" _That's not—_ "

"Well, everyone, thanks for coming out today," Dominique said loudly, cutting off Rose and Maren's whispering. "You all made this decision very difficult. I wish I could have all of you on the team."

Rose looked around the group, particularly at Matthew Corner, and thought privately that she rather hoped Dom was only saying that so as to spare everyone's feelings.

"But, that being said, I can only take six players," Dom continued. She glanced down at the parchment in front of her and cleared her throat. "I'm just going to read off the names of the people who will be playing on the Ravenclaw house team this year. If you don't hear your name, you're not on the team, though you're still welcome to come and practice at any time and if we ever need a substitute you will be the first one notified. Everyone understand?"

There was a general murmur of assent and lots of nodding. Rose's stomach clenched and she reached out and grabbed Maren's hand.

"You're going to make it," Maren whispered, squeezing Rose's fingers. "You played brilliantly."

"So did you," Rose answered. "I'm just nervous."

Maren didn't answer and Rose turned to look at her. She raised an eyebrow when she realized who stood on Maren's other side.

Scorpius Malfoy, with sweat soaking through his robes and his blond hair sticking out in all directions, had his hands clasped in front of him and his eyes trained diligently on Dom. His pale face was slightly green and he looked as though he were going to be ill.

"Is Scorpius alright?" Rose whispered to Maren.

The corner of Maren's mouth curled into a smile and she cocked an eyebrow as she surreptitiously turned her head to look at Scorpius and then back at Rose. "He's probably just nervous," she answered. "But why do you care?"

"I don't," Rose said automatically, tearing her eyes away from Scorpius and looking back at Dom. "I just wanted to know if you thought he's going to be sick. If he is then we should move away. I don't fancy having to clean vomit off my robes."

Maren chuckled but didn't answer as Dom began reading off the names of those who had made the team.

"Alright, let's do this then. I'm the seeker, obviously. Our beaters will be Henry Winkle and Lysander Scamander. Our chasers will be Scorpius Malfoy,"

Rose bit her lip and glanced over towards Scorpius. His face still looked green, but had split into a small, pleased smile.

"Katrina DeMarco," Dom continued, nodding towards the fourth year girl who had scored on Rose, "and Maren Thomas."

Rose grinned and put an arm around Maren, squeezing her hard. Maren beamed and hugged Rose back.

"And our keeper," Dominique went on, still looking determinedly at the parchment in front of her, "will be Rose Weasley."

Rose felt Maren clap her on the shoulder and saw Dom look up and give her a bright smile, afterwards mouthing "I told you so." She saw Fred and Al and Hugo walk towards her and felt Fred give her a big hug and heard her cousins enthusiastically congratulating her. It almost didn't seem real. She was the new Ravenclaw keeper.

"This is so exciting!" she exclaimed to Maren as they put their brooms back in the broom shed. "We're teammates now!"

"I know," Maren answered, smoothing a few flyaway hairs away from her face. "I can't wait to tell my dad. I'll bet he owls your dad tonight."

"And they can come to our matches!" Rose nearly shouted, bouncing back towards the path to the castle, where her cousins waited for her. "And we get to practice with the team and on match days we get to go to breakfast in our quidditch robes and the whole school can come out and see us play!"

"Good to see you're so calm about making the team," Albus joked as Rose approached him. He put one of his gangly arms around her shoulders and squeezed her in a sort of half hug. "Congratulations, though."

"Oh, shut it," Rose said, scowling in feigned irritation and pushing his arm off. "I don't want to hear it from you. You almost knocked me over last year when you were made seeker, you were so excited."

"And you should be excited," Fred chimed in, tugging on Rose's hair and giving her a smile. "It's not every day a third year makes the team. By the way, congratulations, Maren," he added, giving Maren a wink and patting her on the shoulder. "You both played really well."

"Thank you," Maren answered, grinning back at Fred. "Although I think we all know that Rose outdid everyone else on the pitch today."

"Oh, shut it," Rose protested weakly, her blush and smile giving her away.

"You really did great," Dominique said. "And to think you didn't even want to try out."

"You weren't going to try out?" Hugo asked, staring down at his older sister with wide eyes.

"Er—" Rose stammered, glaring at Dom. "I—well, I just wasn't sure—"

"She was worried she wouldn't make the team and we'd all be upset," Dom continued, smiling mischievously back at Rose and ignoring the dirty looks her younger cousin was giving her.

"Rose, are you serious?" Maren asked, gaping at her.

"Rosie, what would Dad say if you didn't try out!" Hugo cried, still staring at her disbelievingly. "He's always going on about how you're going to be the best keeper at Hogwarts and how Melvin Garg didn't make his house team until he was in his fifth—"

"I know," Rose muttered. "I just was a bit nervous, that's all. It was silly."

"It was bloody stupid," Dom corrected her, ruffling Rose's hair. "Fancy our Rosie not trying out for quidditch—honestly—"

"Okay! Yes, it was stupid!" Rose cried, crossing her arms and glaring around at her family. "But I tried out and I made the bloody team so let's all forget about it!"

No one else mentioned it for the rest of the walk. Fred put an arm around Rose's shoulders and mused that pretty soon only Weasleys and Potters would be on the Hogwarts quidditch teams.

They reached the Entrance Hall and the group began to disperse. Fred gave Rose one last hug and whispered, "Congrats, Rosie," a final time before walking off towards the Gryffindor common room.

Dominique walked with Maren and Rose to the Ravenclaw common room, talking nonstop about practice schedules and new maneuvers she wanted to teach the team. She was in the middle of a longwinded speech about the importance of broom care when they approached the eagle door knocker and saw Scorpius standing outside.

"Oy, Malfoy!" Dom called out. "Great playing today! I mean really, after your first shot got blocked a lot of people would have lost their confidence and let it get to them but you just turned around and flew off an didn't let it bother you. And that one move where you knocked the quaffle out of Gorgenson's hand—that took some skill."

Scorpius nodded and flushed. "Thank you," he answered. He looked up at Maren and Rose. "You did well today too, Maren. Congratulations on making the team." He paused for a moment before giving a small nod and adding, "And you, Weasley."

Maren smiled and offered her congratulations. Rose remained silent, debating whether to be polite to her new teammate and pretend she hadn't noticed the hesitation before congratulating her and the cold use of her surname, or to ignore him.

Dominique cleared her throat and poked Rose in the back. Rose sighed and gave Scorpius a tight lipped smile. "Congrats to you too, Malfoy. Maybe after a bit of practice you'll be able to score a goal on me."

Scorpius scowled and Rose lifted her chin a bit higher, ignoring Maren's raised eyebrows and Dom's sharp pinch. Before anyone could say anything more, the common room door opened and a young girl stumbled out. Scorpius hurried through, his shoulders hunched and his silver eyes on the ground. Rose and Maren followed, running immediately up to their dormitory.

"How did it go?" Lucy asked when they walked in. She and Allie were sprawled across their beds, each reading a different issue of _Witch Weekly_.

Rose and Maren exchanged looks. Scorpius Malfoy was now far from their minds as they grinned and turned back to their friends, saying in unison, "We made it!"

The next day at breakfast Rose anxiously awaited the arrival of the mail. She had sent Aslan off to her parents right after returning to Ravenclaw Tower, telling them all about tryouts and how she was the new Ravenclaw keeper. The fact she hadn't been able to see her dad's face when he heard the news was disappointing, but Rose contented herself with being able to read what would no doubt be a long and excited congratulatory letter from him.

Rose poked at her eggs and nibbled on a piece of toast, her eyes flitting up towards the ceiling every few seconds. Beside her, Maren was doing much the same.

"Would you two eat, please?" Lucy chided, giving them a severe look from across the table. "Honestly, you know the post doesn't usually arrive until the end of breakfast. And you'll both be grumpy and tired if you don't eat now. Especially considering how much work we have to do today."

"Luce, I can't eat," Rose cried. "This is a," she cast around for a particularly impressive phrase, " _a momentous occasion_ and I don't want to miss it!"

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Lucy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're not going to _miss_ the post, Rosie. Aslan is going to bring it right to you and it's rather loud, in case you don't remember."

"But Lucy—"

The familiar roar of hundreds of owls filled the Great Hall and Rose's head snapped up in an instant, trying to pick out Aslan from the horde of owls overhead.

A large tawny owl landed in front of Maren, who hastily pushed her plate to the side.

"What'd your dad say?" Allie asked from across the table as Maren tore open the envelope.

Maren scanned the letter and beamed. "He said he's talking to someone right now about buying a Ravenclaw scarf and he's coming to our first match with Rose's parents."

"Oh, that'll be brilliant!" Allie cried, clapping her hands together.

"Our dads really are forming a fan club, aren't they?" Rose laughed, grinning at Maren before turning her attention back to the ceiling. Where was Aslan?

"Er—Rose," Lucy's voice broke out nervously. "Is that—"

Aslan appeared suddenly, circling the Ravenclaw table in search of his owner. It only took a few seconds for Rose to realize what had made Lucy so apprehensive. Attached to Aslan's leg was a normal letter. Held in his beak, however, was a scarlet envelope.

"Your dad wouldn't—" Lucy began feebly.

"Oh, he would," Rose answered, her eyes going wide.

Aslan found his owner and landed gently on the table in front of Rose just as the envelope began smoking slightly.

"What do I do?" Rose hissed, gingerly taking the envelope and looking to Lucy for help.

"I don't know," Lucy replied, glancing around the packed hall. "Try to run out to the entrance hall, maybe? At least you know he won't be chewing you out, but still you probably don't want everyone to hear—"

Before she could finish, the envelope exploded in front of Rose and her father's jubilant shouts filled the Great Hall.

" _ROSE MINERVA WEASLEY I AM SO PROUD OF YOU,_ "

"Oh no," Rose whispered. She felt her face heat up and tried to cover it with her hands as her dad's voice continued to echo around the hall.

" _YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE BEST BLOODY KEEPER IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL—"_

 _"_ Ronald!" Rose's mum's voice broke in, not quite as loud as her dad's, but still managing to ring through the hall. "She is at school, you mustn't use that language!"

" _HERMIONE OUR DAUGHTER IS A KEEPER! ROSIE, I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU AND YOU MADE IT AS A THIRD YEAR! THAT'S_ TWO _YEARS EARLIER THAN MELVIN GARG MADE HIS HOUSE TEAM!_ TWO YEARS!"

Rose couldn't help but smile at that, though her face continued to burn scarlet. She glanced around the Great Hall and saw James, Fred and Roxanne all laughing heartily at the Gryffindor table, obviously enjoying her father's howler very much. At the Hufflepuff table, Hugo's face was bright red and he was talking determinedly to Louis, apparently trying to act as though he was not related to her or their dad. Rose looked at the staff table and saw Uncle Neville and Aunt Minnie exchanging looks. And, to her great indignation, saw Uncle Neville pass a handful of silver coins to Aunt Minnie.

"I'VE ALREADY TALKED TO MR. THOMAS AND WE'RE BOTH BUYING RAVENCLAW GEAR AND COMING TO YOUR MATCHES, NO QUESTION. BY THE WAY, MAREN—MAREN THOMAS I KNOW YOU'RE THERE SOMEWHERE, CONGRATULATIOINS! YOU TWO GIRLS ARE GOING TO BE UNSTOPPABLE. AND DOMINIQUE, YOU'RE THERE TOO AREN'T YOU? YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE ONE HELL OF A TEAM THIS YEAR—"

"Ron, honestly!"

"HERMIONE, RAVENCLAW IS GOING TO BE UNSTOPPABLE ON THE PITCH! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, ROSIE!"

At that point the message ended and the howler burnt itself right in front of Rose. She looked over her shoulder and saw most of the Great Hall staring at her. Most people smiled, whether from sympathy or amusement. A few looked annoyed but Rose ignored them. In an effort to hide her steaming face, she hastily untied the other letter from Aslan's leg.

She recognized her mother's handwriting almost immediately. The letter was short, reading only:

 _I tried to stop him, sweetheart. We really are very proud of you, though. And your father wanted you to have this. He said it'll be good luck._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Mum_

Rose shook the envelope and felt something flat and heavy at the bottom. She tipped it upside down and out rolled a badge, a bit faded but in good shape. On it the words **Weasley Is Our King** blazed.

"Blimey, your parents sent you that?" Maren asked enviously, reaching out and examining the badge. "We should make these for the whole team."

"I think it's my dad's," Rose said. "Uncle George told us a story one time about the Gryffindors having a chant like that when he played."

"D'ya think he'd remember it?" Maren asked, her face lighting up in a grin. "We could bring it back—"

"Er—"

She was saved from answering by Albus approaching them, grinning from ear to ear.

"So I made the team as a second year and just got a 'Congratulations, Al,' but you made it this year and you get a howler? How is that fair?"

"I think it's plenty fair," Rose grumbled, swatting at her cousin.

Al ducked and laughed, reaching out to ruffle Rose's hair. "You should've seen Fred and James. I don't think they've stopped laughing yet."

Rose craned her neck and looked towards the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, her two cousins were still howling with laughter.

"It's not funny!" she cried, her face turning red again, though she couldn't help a small smile as she thought about how ridiculous her dad could be. "Well, it is, but not to me!"

"Oh, come on, Rosie," Al said. "You know if my mum sent me anything like that you would be on the floor from laughing so much."

Rose couldn't think of a reply and simply grinned and made to smack Al again.

"We're rivals now," she reminded him after he ducked. "We're going to have to play _against_ each other now on the pitch."

"And Slytherin is going to wipe the floor with Ravenclaw," Al said, smirking. "I heard their seeker is the best in the school."

Rose laughed and shook her head. Lucy looked up and informed them all it was time to leave for class. Checking that the badge was still on her bag, Rose got up from the table and walked with her friends towards the dungeons. Even potions couldn't sour her mood today.

* * *

Edited 3/27/2017


	10. Chapter 10

Fall slipped by in a whirlwind of homework and quidditch practices. Before anyone knew it, the first Hogsmeade trip of the year was approaching. Rose and Lucy both stopped to stare at the notice pinned to the board in the Ravenclaw common room one morning before breakfast.

"Oh, and we'll be able to go now!" Lucy squealed, clasping her hands in front of her. "What do you think of that, Rosie, we're actually going to be able to go to Hogsmeade with everyone this year."

"And the trip's on Halloween," Rose added, still grinning at the notice. She glanced at her cousin and winked. "And Vic told me over the summer that third year is when boys will start asking girls to go to Hogsmeade with them."

Lucy flushed and sniffed delicately, turning away from Rose and tugging at the ends of her hair. "Well—I don't know what that has to do with anything—I thought—well—it's the first visit!"

Rose laughed at her cousin's discomposure and poked her in the side. "Come on, Luce, I'm teasing. Although if you try to tell me you would say no if N—"

" _Rose Minerva! If you finish that sentence—_ "

"—then I'll be very disappointed, Lucy Marie. I thought we agreed not to lie to each other—"

"It's not lying! I don't know what you're talking about—"

"Come on, Luce, you're so obvious about it, every time—"

"Not as obvious as you are about Ly Scamander!"

"That's beside the point!"

"No it's not! If you want me to have a date so bad, why don't you go ask him—"

"What's going on here?" A new voice chimed in. Rose and Lucy both snapped their mouths shut and turned to find Molly, one eyebrow raised, looking as though she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Er, we were just talking about the Hogsmeade trip," Rose said quickly, glancing at Lucy, whose face had gone scarlet.

"I gathered that much," Molly replied. Her eyes shifted from her cousin to her sister and the corner of her mouth crept higher up. "But you've probably been in front of the notice long enough now to have memorized the day of the trip, yeah? So why don't we go down to breakfast?"

Rose and Lucy exchanged looks and then slowly nodded, traipsing after Molly across the common room.

"Oh, and Luce," Molly added, looking over her shoulder just as she pushed opened the door to the corridor. "For the record, denial doesn't suit you. And Nathan Nott is a very good choice. I approve."

Lucy let out a squeak and buried her face in her robes as Rose nearly doubled over with laughter.

Molly simply rolled her eyes and held the door open, though a smile had broken through on her face. "Honestly, you two," she chided as she gently pushed them through the door. "If you're like this now I don't even want to think about what you'll be like in a few years."

"I'm sure we'll have gotten the hang of Hogsmeade visits by then," Rose answered cheerily, emitting a few more giggles as she looked at Lucy. "And Lucy and Nathan will nearly be engaged by then—"

" _Rosie!_ "

In potions that morning all anyone could talk about was the Hogsmeade visit. Professor Lecher barely managed to maintain the third years' attention long enough to set them their task of brewing a soothing serum.

Lucy was almost as careless as Rose, nearly putting in lacewig flies instead of scarab beetles and stirring clockwise when she was supposed to stir counter-clockwise. Rose, who had been relegated to preparing ingredients and not touching the actual potion, had to step in several times to remind Lucy what she was supposed to be doing, much to everyone's surprise.

"Luce, what are you doing?" Rose demanded after catching Lucy's wrist to stop her from stirring the wrong way for the third time.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Lucy cried, immediately correcting her mistake and stirring furiously, her eyes flickering across the room as she did so. "I don't know what's wrong with me today, I just—" she trailed off and didn't finish the sentence. When she finished stirring the potion, she glanced again at the other end of the room.

Rose furrowed her brow and followed her cousin's gaze. "What are you looking at?" she hissed, leaning toward Lucy. "There's nothing over there. Just Al and Nathan."

"I'm not looking at anything," Lucy replied. She turned around quickly, her ponytail flicking through the air. "I just thought I saw something strange."

"What was it?" Rose asked, reaching for the silverweed and beginning to chop it.

"It—I suppose it wasn't too odd now that I think of it," Lucy said thoughtfully. "Matthew Corner was just over there talking to Al and Nathan and it looked like they were fighting."

"Why would they be fighting?" Rose asked, stopping and cocking her head to the side. "I didn't think they really knew each other that well."

"Me either," Lucy replied. She frowned and then shook her head, turning back to the cauldron. "Alright, have you finished the silverweed then? It says here we just need to add that and stir three times clockwise and let it boil for ten minutes."

They managed to finish the class without completely ruining their potion. Lucy capped the vial of her and Rose's soothing serum—it was navy blue instead of royal blue, but really, who cared—and the two girls walked to charms with Maren and Allie.

Charms passed without too much bother and Rose slid into the Ravenclaw table for lunch wondering vaguely what they would be learning in ancient runes that day. She had just helped herself to some ham and potatoes when she heard the unmistakable voice of Albus Severus Potter shouting across the hall, "Rose! Rosie! Rose Minerva!"

Clutching a fork in her right hand and vowing silently to impale her cousin with it if his reason for screaming her name was anything short of a family death, Rose turned around.

Albus was running across the hall, Nathan Nott walking calmly behind him. He skidded to a stop in front of Rose and panted slightly before brushing hair from his eyes and fixing her with a pointed stare. "I have," Al panted, "to talk to you." He straightened and put a hand on his hip.

Rose couldn't help but giggle as she thought that Al's posture and expression looked remarkably like Aunt Ginny's at the moment.

"Rosie," Al said slowly, still breathing deeply after his sprint across the hall. "I'm going to ask you a question and I need you to tell me the truth."

"O-okay," Rose answered, raising an eyebrow at her cousin's somber tone. "What is it?"

Albus took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut before saying very fast, "Are you going out with Matthew Corner?"

Rose blinked several times and then threw her head back and laughed. "I—I— _what?_ " she chortled, bending over and clutching her sides. "That—Al—that's the most— _ridiculous_ thing I've ever heard." She laughed harder as Albus let out a sigh of relief and plopped down beside her.

"Good," he said brusquely, reaching over Rose to grab a pitcher of pumpkin juice. "Now I don't feel bad for chewing him out earlier."

"Why 'oo ch'im ou'?" Rose forced out through a mouthful of food.

Al grimaced. "He came up to me in potions this morning talking about how he was going to be taking you to Hogsmeade."

Rose stopped chewing for a moment and nearly choked on her food. "Wh—what?" she gasped, hastily taking a large gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Is that why you looked so angry in class today?" Lucy asked from across the table.

"Yeah," Nathan Nott, who was sitting beside Lucy, answered with a grin. "He nearly had a fit when Corner said that, got all red in the face and couldn't put together a proper sentence—"

"Shut it," Al said crossly, glaring at his friend. "You'd have done the same thing if someone said that about—er—"

"About who?" Nathan chuckled. "Scorpius?" He turned to look at his friend, who sat on his other side and had been silently watching the exchange, and clapped him on the shoulder. "No offense, mate, I think if a girl came up and told me she was taking you to Hogsmeade I would just tell her to have fun and not to take you to the Shrieking Shack."

"Good to know," Scorpius said dryly, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I think I would tell your date to be sure and take you to Madam Puddifoot's."

Nathan shoved Scorpius lightly and the two boys exchanged a look before grinning at each other.

"So you're not going to say yes to Matthew Corner if he asks you to Hogsmeade?" Albus prompted Rose, turning back toward her.

"Er—" Rose hesitated, her fork poised in front of her mouth. She was not overly fond of Matthew Corner and was rather glad that Al had told him off for going around saying he was taking her to Hogsmeade. But then again, the idea of having a date for her first Hogsmeade visit was very appealing. And who knew, maybe Matthew Corner was one of those people you had to spend time with to really like. He was no Ly Scamander, but, Rose thought, maybe he was like Mr. Darcy and would improve upon closer acquaintance.

"What's this about someone asking my Rosie to Hogsmeade?" a voice asked indignantly from behind them. Rose turned around to find Fred looking at her expectantly.

"Er—no one's asked me yet," Rose said hastily, giving Fred a small smile.

"Good, because you've already got plans for this Hogsmeade visit," Fred said, squeezing in next to Rose so she was squashed between him and Al.

"I do?"

"Rosie!" Fred cried in exaggerated shock, clutching his chest and giving her a wide-eyed, pitiful look. "I can't believe you've forgotten! You promised me that your first Hogsmeade visit we would go to the Three Broomsticks and have a butterbeer, don't you remember?"

"Oh, bugger, I forgot all about that!" Rose exclaimed, smacking herself in the forehead. "I'm sorry, Fred!"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Fred reassured her, dropping the pitiful act and tugging on one of Rose's curls playfully. "I meant to remind you about it at breakfast but then James wanted my help charming the muffins to tap dance."

"Will you buy me a butterbeer too?" Al asked hopefully, leaning over Rose to grab a scone.

"Maybe one," Fred mused. "But," he added with a grin, "you're going to have to get used to buying butterbeers if you ever want to take a girl to Hogsmeade, Al."

Al's face went red and he dropped his scone on his plate, sputtering, "I don't—there's no one— _I'm not asking anyone!_ "

"Just wait," Fred said with a wink. "Everyone has to go through the embarrassment of asking a girl to Hogsmeade and buying her a butterbeer before they leave Hogwarts."

"Have you ever taken anyone to Hogsmeade?" Al demanded.

"Nope," Fred replied easily. "Haven't found a girl that I want to take yet."

"How do you know when you've found one?" Al asked, suddenly serious. He looked around apprehensively, as though afraid someone might overhear. "Isn't it scary asking one? How do you decide?"

"Well," Fred said slowly, running a hand through his hair. He paused and glanced down at his cousins before smiling. "When I find a girl who's as much fun as my little cousin Rosie I'll ask her to Hogsmeade. How's that?"

"Will we get to meet her before you take her out?" Rose asked hopefully, turning her face up to look at Fred.

"Of course, Rosie Posie," he answered, putting an arm around her shoulder. "I'd need your approval before I took anyone out to Hogsmeade."

Rose grinned and puffed out her chest slightly. Around her, students began getting up and grabbing their bags as lunch came to an end.

"I've got to get to care of magical creatures," Fred said, squeezing Rose's shoulder before standing up. "I'll see you lot later."

Rose waved as Fred disappeared into the crowd of students. When she turned around, Allie was beside her.

"Ready for ancient runes?" the blonde asked jovially, hooking her arm through Rose's.

"Absolutely," Rose answered. They skipped off to class. Rose couldn't help the smile blazing on her face as a result of her lunch with Fred and Al and the fact it was time for her favorite class of the day.

Rose and Allie slid into their seats and took out their books and quills. There were only a handful of students in the classroom; most people were still milling throughout the corridor.

"Do you know what we're learning about today?" Allie asked quietly as she flipped through her book.

"Not a clue," Rose answered. "Professor Scribner said something last week about starting in on activities and places, but in the book those don't come for another two chapters."

"Well as long as we're done with all the family members," Allie muttered. "I have such a hard time keeping all of those straight. Why does there have to be four different hieroglyphics for grandparent?"

"It makes sense if you think about it," Rose said simply, taking out her homework and glancing over it. "You have normal grandparents and dead grandparents and estranged grandparents and grandparents who act as parents. Simple."

"It's still confusing," Allie sighed. Her blonde curls bounced around her face as she turned and gave Rose a sly smile. "And speaking of confusing—I've heard a lot of different things today about you and Matthew Corner."

"Oh," Rose said, flushing and staring at her homework determinedly. "Yes, well, I've heard a lot of different things about that too."

"Well?" Allie prompted, nudging Rose's shoulder.

"Nothing's happening."

"You mean you're not going to Hogsmeade with him?" Allie asked, slumping slightly in her seat and looking a bit put out.

"Nope."

"Well why not?"

"I promised Fred I would go to the Three Broomsticks with him on my first Hogsmeade visit. And even if I hadn't, I'm not quite sure I would want to go with Matthew Corner." Rose glanced up and bit her lip. "I mean, he's not a bad sort, I suppose, but—"

"He's not Lysander Scamander, is he?" Allie asked with a laugh.

Rose scowled and elbowed her friend in the side. "That's not funny!"

"Come on, Rose, you know that if it had been Ly Scamander asking you, you would have canceled your afternoon with Fred faster—"

" _I would not!_ "

"Than you can say butterbeer."

"I just think he's nice!"

"Sure," Allie said with a grin, rolling her eyes. "Whatever you say."

"It's true," Rose sniffed, lifting her chin up and glaring at Allie. "And he's not going to ask me anyways so I don't think it matters."

"Well at least someone wants to ask you," Allie shrugged, giving Rose a smile. "That should make you feel a little better. And even if no one did ask you, at least you have cousins who will take you to get a butterbeer. The rest of us who don't have dates just have to go with our friends."

"Going with friends is probably more fun than going with a date," Rose replied, thinking privately she would much rather spend a day in Hogsmeade with her friends than with a boy—unless, of course, said boy happened to have pale blue eyes and dirty blond hair and have exceptional aim with a beater's bat.

"But it's still nice to know that someone at least likes you enough to want to take you to Hogsmeade," Allie said.

More students began pouring through the doorway so Rose and Allie halted their Hogsmeade conversation, choosing instead to compare their homework answers, forgetting they had done the homework together.

Nathan Nott and Scorpius walked in the classroom and took their seats behind the girls.

"Hello again," Nathan said cheerfully, giving the girls a wide smile. "How're you two doing since I last saw you ten minutes ago?"

"Brilliant," Rose answered, raising an eyebrow at Nathan's chipper mood. "I take it you're having a good afternoon?"

"A great one," Nathan answered, his smile widening. He turned to Scorpius and clapped him on the shoulder, saying, "And it's only going to get better. Allie, how are you today?"

"Er—good," Allie answered, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion at being singled out. "Everyone's been excited today since the Hogsmeade notices were posted."

"Ah, yes! You hear that, Scorp?" Nathan beamed and nudged Scorpius, who bit his lip and kept his eyes glued to his desk. "Everyone's excited about Hogsmeade!"

Professor Scribner entered the room then, shutting the door with a wave of her wand and calling them all to attention.

"Please take out your homework and turn you books to page seventy nine," she instructed, tapping the board with her wand so that a set of hieroglyphics appeared. "We are going to correct this weekend's assignment and then get started on today's lesson of places and modes of travel."

Rose smiled to herself and uncapped her inkwell before nudging Allie gently in the rib. "No more family members," she whispered.

Allie kept her gaze on Professor Scribner but leaned towards Rose. Her blonde curls brushed against Rose's cheek as she muttered, "Thank bloody Merlin."

When the bell rang to dismiss the class Rose hurriedly shoved her book and parchment into her bag and slid out of her chair. Her knuckles were stained black from ink and her face shone. It had been the most interesting lesson they had had so far.

"Rose!" Nathan chimed out behind her, maneuvering around the crowded desks and taking her by the elbow. His face was still split into a wide smile. "Let me walk with you to defense!"

"Er—alright," Rose said slowly, her forehead crinkling as she frowned. "But don't you have charms next? Will you be late?"

"No, don't worry about it," Nathan said, pulling her by the arm until they were out of the classroom.

"But—Allie's still in there—" Rose said feebly.

"She'll be fine," Nathan said confidently, walking quickly and towing Rose through the crowded corridor.

"Er, Nathan?" Rose asked, trying to keep up and talk at the same time. Why did he have to have such long legs? She had to take nearly three steps for each one of his. "Why are you walking with me? I know how to get to defense—"

"Oh, no reason," Nathan said airily, dodging a fanged Frisbee and tugging Rose's arm to keep her from falling behind. "Just thought we haven't seen much of each other lately and I wouldn't mind saying hello to Maren and Lucy."

"Oh, I suppose-wait." Rose stopped for a moment and nearly had her arm ripped out of its socket.

"Sorry," Nathan said hastily, pausing and letting go of her. "What's wrong?"

"Nathan, are you taking anyone to Hogsmeade?" Rose asked eagerly, craning her neck around him to try and catch a glimpse of Lucy at the end of the corridor.

"Er—" he frowned at her and shifted uncomfortably. "No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason," Rose shrugged, grinning to herself. She grabbed his elbow and began trotting down the hall again. "Let's go, then!" She charged down the corridor, Nathan only slightly ahead of her, until they reached the defense classroom. Maren and Lucy waited outside the door, both looking up in surprise to see Rose half dragging Nathan Nott along with her.

Rose released his arm and immediately stood next to Maren. "What do you think we're doing in class today?" she asked loudly.

A few inches away, Nathan gave Lucy a smile and said brightly, "Hello, Lucy, how are you doing today?"

"Not bad," Lucy replied, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Er—how about you?"

"Oh I'm brilliant," Nathan said. He checked his watch and started. "Oh, blimey, I've got to run and make it to charms. See you lot later!" And with a final wave, he sprinted away.

Rose turned away from Maren, frowning after Nathan and glancing at Lucy, who looked flustered and more than a little disappointed.

"What was all that about?" Maren asked.

"No idea," Rose replied, running a hand through her hair. "I thought—I don't know."

"Where's Allie?" Lucy asked, turning to her friends with a tight smile. "Did she not walk here with you?"

"Er—no—Nathan kind of dragged me out of ancient runes right after the bell rang," Rose said, her face flushing for some unknown reason.

Lucy raised an eyebrow but didn't respond.

"I—I don't know why," Rose continued quickly. "I thought he wanted to talk to you two about something but—I dunno—he just ran off—"

"That's odd," Maren mused, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Running footsteps echoed down the corridor and the three girls looked up to see Allie, her blonde curls flying behind her, sprinting towards them.

"Guess what, guess what!" she shrieked as she approached, her face slightly pink and her chest heaving. "Oh, you'll never guess, I'm just going to tell you. _Scorpius Malfoy asked me to Hogsmeade!_ "

" _What?_ " The other three gasped in unison.

"Yes, yes!" Allie cried, doing a half-leap down the hallway and grinning madly. "He came up to me after ancient runes and asked if I'd like to go with him!"

"Oh Allie, that's wonderful!" Lucy cried, smiling and patting Allie on the shoulder.

"Wait, you said yes?" Rose demanded.

"Rose, don't be thick," Lucy chided. "Of course she said yes. Why wouldn't she?"

"Well I don't know, maybe—"

"I said yes!" Allie interrupted, stepping between the squabbling cousins and beaming. "I have a date on my very first Hogsmeade trip. And it's with Scorpius! Oh, I don't even know what to do with myself."

"What are you going to wear?" Maren asked.

"Oh, blimey," Allie paused, her smile fading. "I don't know! I've never been anywhere with a boy—"

"We'll ask Dom and Molly to help," Lucy said firmly, putting a reassuring hand on Allie's shoulder. "They've both gone on Hogsmeade dates before, they'll know what to do."

"Perfect," Allie exhaled.

"And I hate to do this," Lucy said, looking around the nearly empty corridor, "but I really think we ought to go into class, girls. I don't fancy having Allie miss her date with Scorpius because she has detention this Saturday."

They all nodded and hurried into the classroom, where Professor Spinnet was just beginning her lecture.

"Isn't that nice for Allie?" Maren whispered to Rose as they took their seats. "It must be lovely to have a date with someone you really like."

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, trying hard not to say anything rude. After all, she liked Allie. It couldn't be helped if her friend had terrible taste in boys. "It must be bloody brilliant."

The weekend arrived and Rose awoke Saturday morning full of excitement. She leapt out of bed and went to wake up her roommates.

After breakfast the four Ravenclaw third year girls wandered back up to their dormitory, where Dom and Molly had promised to meet them to help choose outfits and fix their hair. Rose flung herself on her bed and picked up _Pride and Prejudice_ , thumbing through it lazily as Lucy and Allie fussed over clothes.

Just as Mr. Darcy was about to make his disastrous first proposal, there was a knock on the door and a few seconds later, Roxanne poked her head in the room.

"Hey, hey," she greeted them, walking into the room and sitting down on Lucy's bed. "How goes it?"

"Not too bad," Rose replied, setting her book aside and jumping from her bed to Lucy's, landing centimeters from Roxanne. "Are you excited for Hogsmeade?"

"I always am," Roxanne grinned. "Though the novelty of it wears off a bit after the first few trips."

"It won't for me," Rose declared, flopping on her back so her knees knocked into her cousin's. "I think I'll always be this excited."

"I hope you are, Rosie," Roxanne replied.

"Rox, where are Dom and Molly?" Lucy asked, wringing her hands and looking at the clock on the wall. "They should have been here by now."

"I dunno," Roxanne shrugged. "Haven't seen them all morning."

Lucy frowned and stared at her cousin for a moment. "How did you get into the common room, then?" she asked.

"I answered the question," Roxanne shrugged. "It wasn't that hard."

Lucy opened her mouth and then closed it, turning back to Allie and checking the clock one more time.

"Is it really that surprising I could answer the question?" Roxanne whispered to Rose, letting out a chuckle. "If you nitwits can get in here every day I think I can do it."

"Shut it," Rose laughed, elbowing Roxanne in the side. "She didn't mean it like that. You know how Lucy gets when she's stressed."

"What's she stressed about?" Roxanne asked, propping herself up on one elbow and waggling her eyebrows. "Got a hot date she's been keeping a secret from the family?"

"No," Rose giggled, smacking Roxanne in the shoulder. "Our friend Allie has a date, though, and none of us know what she should wear or anything."

"Pff," Roxanne scoffed, shaking her head and laughing. "That's silly. You just wear whatever you'd wear if you didn't have a date. Problem solved."

"Don't tell Lucy or Allie that," Rose whispered. "They're both going a bit berserk."

"Rosie, I can hear you two talking about me!" Lucy screeched from across the room. "And I am _not_ going berserk!"

Rose and Roxanne burst out laughing, choosing not to respond. Lucy frowned at them and checked the clock again.

"Where are they?" she asked nobody in particular.

"We're right here," Dom's voice called out, announcing her and Molly's arrival. They both walked through the door and surveyed the room.

"So, what do you need help with?" Dom asked, looking around the room at the various occupants. She and Molly had evidently already gotten ready for the trip. Dom wore a pair of leggings and a loose, baby blue jumper that brought out the ginger tints in her strawberry blond hair, which fell in straight sheets down her back. Molly wore a pair of jeans and a long sleeved red shirt under a grey cardigan. Her brown hair curled around her shoulders and her eyelids were covered in shimmery silver eye shadow.

"Allie has a date to Hogsmeade today and she doesn't know what to wear," Lucy said quickly, dragging Allie towards her sister and cousins.

"A date?" Dom asked. "With who?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," Allie answered, flushing as she did anytime she mentioned her date. "And I'd like to look especially pretty for it," she added quietly, her eyes drifting to the carpet.

"Well, we can help with that," Molly said cheerfully. "Just show us which trunk is yours and Dom and I will put something together."

Allie walked them over to her bed and the two older girls bent down and immediately began rifling through the pile of clothes, talking quietly as they compared jumpers and blouses.

"This is mad," Roxanne whispered to Rose.

"I know," Rose replied. "But, er, Rox?" She glanced at her cousin and patted her wild, bushy curls.

"Yeah?"

"Would you braid my hair for me?"

"Sure," Roxanne chuckled and sat up. She gestured towards the ground in front of her and Rose slid off the bed so she was sitting in front of her cousin, her mass of hair level with Roxanne's hands.

"You're going to have to learn to do this yourself someday, Rosie," Roxanne said as she ran her hands through Rose's tangled curls and separated them into three sections.

"My mum tried to teach me but I couldn't get it," Rose admitted. "I can braid other people's hair just not my own."

"I'll try to teach you soon," Roxanne said as she began to pull the sections of hair over each other, pausing every few seconds to pull them tighter. "It's really not that difficult."

They sat in silence for a minute, watching in bemusement as Dom and Molly finally agreed on an outfit for Allie and started discussing how she should do her hair.

"Oh, Rosie, I almost forgot," Roxanne said suddenly as she tied off Rose's plait. "I'm spending the day with the Scamanders if you and Lucy would like to join us. We're probably just going to the Three Broomsticks and to dad's shop. You can bring your friends too, if you'd like."

"I'm going to the Three Broomsticks with Fred first," Rose answered, unable to help the smile that crossed her face at the thought of spending a day in Hogsmeade with Ly Scamander—even if other people were there too. "But I'll meet up with you lot later. I'm sure Lucy and Maren would like to go too."

"Brilliant," Roxanne said. "Lorcan and Ly will like that. We were just all saying the other day that we don't get to see you and Lucy enough."

"Oh," Rose stammered, a blush covering her cheeks. "That's—"

"Oh, this is perfect!" Dom shrieked. Rose looked up and saw Allie standing in the middle of the dormitory. She wore a pair of jeans and a pink jumper, with her blonde hair pulled up in a knot at the top of her head and the faintest traces of blush and mascara evident on her face.

"You look amazing, Allie," Rose said, looking over her friend with just a touch of envy. Allie blushed and grinned. Rose couldn't help but smile. Allie looked just like the witches that were always displayed on the cover of Witch Weekly, with their sleek blonde hair and rosy cheeks and faces free of freckles. Rose brought a hand to her nose and thought, with a pang, that she rather wished she looked like that, instead of having an uncontrollable mane of hair and more freckles than she could count.

"Oh, isn't it wonderful?" Molly asked, circling Allie and using her wand to slick down flyaway pieces of hair. "You really do look beautiful."

"Thank you," Allie said quietly, glancing nervously around the room as the other girls looked at her in admiration.

"I'll bet you a galleon Scorpius trips over his own feet when he sees you," Maren declared, jumping up from her bed and walking closer to her friend.

"I'll bet _every_ boy trips over their own feet when they see you," Lucy said.

"Or slips on their own drool," Maren added.

"Ew," Lucy crinkled her nose and smacked Maren in their arm.

"Well, our work here is done," Dom said with a wink, giving Allie one last pat. She turned to Rose and Lucy. "Be sure to tell us how everything goes. We'll probably see you in the village somewhere, yeah?"

"Probably," Rose answered, standing up and going to her own trunk to find something to wear. "I'm going to the Three Broomsticks with Fred," she added proudly.

"Oh, that's sweet," Dom replied, tugging the end of Rose's plait affectionately. "Maybe we'll come join you then."

"And if you need anything, any of you," Molly added, looking around at the girls, "you come find one of us, okay?"

"Okay," they all chirped back, even Roxanne who rolled her eyes.

"Have fun," Molly said, giving Lucy a pat on the shoulder and turning towards the door. "Don't do anything stupid, please. We have enough on our hands trying to keep James out of trouble."

"Well, we're off, then," Dom said, giving them a wave. She and Molly exited the room and shut the door, leaving the four remaining Ravenclaws and Roxanne alone.

"It's nearly time to go down to the carriages," Lucy said, consulting the clock. "Roxy, are you going to walk down with us?"

"I told the Scamanders I'd meet them down in the Entrance Hall so I suppose I'd better go down there in case they show up early," Roxanne replied. She slid off Lucy's bed and gave an exaggerated wave in imitation of Dom. "Well, I'm off!" she called in a high pitched voice that made them all giggle before sweeping out of the room.

Rose changed quickly into a pair of leggings and the pretty royal blue jumper Grandma Molly had knitted for her last Christmas.

"Ready to go down?" Lucy asked, fastening a watch on her wrist. Behind her, Allie was using her wand to smooth down Maren's flyaway hairs, mimicking the spell Molly had used.

"Just a mo'" Rose said. She hastily snatched the brown leather bag Uncle Bill had brought her from Egypt a few years ago and stuffed her wand, five sickles and a handful of bobby pins in it. "Ready," she declared, slinging the bag over her shoulder.

The girls trooped down to the Entrance Hall. At the bottom of the stairs Rose spotted Fred leaning against the stone wall, one hand in his jeans pocket and the other drumming against his leg.

"I'll catch up with you lot later!" she said to her friends, waving before she detached herself from the group and approached her cousin.

"Good morning, Rosie," Fred said, straightening when he saw her approach and throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Are you ready to see Hogsmeade and all it has to offer?"

"I am," Rose laughed.

"Excellent," Fred replied. "Because I have appointed myself your unofficial tour guide and official family ambassador to the village."

Rose giggled and rolled her eyes at him. Fred led her through the hall and into the line of students waiting to get past Filch's security checks.

"Why does it matter if we're bringing something out of the castle?" she asked, watching as the caretaker prodded a fifth year slytherin.

"It doesn't," Fred answered. "Filch just likes to have an excuse to be a nuisance."

A few feet ahead of them, Rose saw Albus join Lucy, Maren and Allie in line. Close behind him were Nathan, Albus, and Scorpius.

Nathan craned his neck and caught sight of Rose. He waved and detached himself from the group, walking quickly towards her.

"Hey, Rose!" he said with a wave. "Excited for Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah, I am," Rose answered, very aware of Fred's raised eyebrow and pointed stare behind her. "You?"

"I can't wait," Nathan replied. "Er, listen," he ran a hand through his hair and anxiety gripped Rose for a moment. "I wanted to talk to you about the other day after runes," Nathan continued, going a bit red. "Explain what happened."

"Oh, right." In all honesty, Nathan's odd behavior that day had completely slipped Rose's mind.

"Well, you see, Scorpius really wanted to ask Allie to Hogsmeade—"

"I gathered that much."

"Well, he didn't really want an audience. So he asked me if I would distract you—"

"So by 'didn't want an audience' you mean he didn't want me there?"

"You make him nervous," Nathan said a piercing look that made Rose close her mouth. "Anyways, he didn't want to muck it up so he asked me to distract you. Which is why I rushed you out of there."

"Well—" Rose trailed off, unsure how to reply. "Alright, then, I suppose. Thanks for—for clearing that up."

"Yeah, well, I should get back," Nathan said quickly, already turning around. "Be sure to catch up with us when you're done getting butterbeer with your cousin!"

"Will do," Rose answered. She turned back to Fred, whose pointed stare had become a look of vague curiosity.

"So, your friend has a date with Malfoy," he said casually, looking down at Rose with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," she muttered. "She fancies him for some reason."

Fred chuckled. "And I take it, from what I just heard, that you're not a fan of the bloke?"

"He's a twat."

"Any specific reason why you say that?"

"No, he just is one."

Fred shook his head and laughed again, pulling at the end of Rose's braid. "Oh, Rosie, you might want to give the poor boy a chance before you decide he's a twat. From the sounds of things he's already terrified of you."

"I did give him a chance!" Rose cried, crossing her arms and scowling. "He's always perfectly nice to everyone else and then barely acknowledges me except to look at me like I'm a flobberworm!"

"Ah, so it seems you do have a reason for thinking he's a twat."

"No, I don't care what he thinks of me. He's a twat just because he is."

"Mhm, alright Rosie."

Rose huffed and turned her attention to her friends ahead of her. Scorpius didn't seem to have fallen over his own feet at the sight of Allie. He stood next to her, although there was enough space between them to fit another person, and he seemed to be talking. He paused for a moment and his face split into a small, nervous smile.

"I don't ever want to have a date to Hogsmeade," Rose said suddenly, wrinkling her nose and looking away.

"Why's that?" Fred asked, looking as though he were trying not to laugh.

"Because it's stupid," Rose said, tossing her head and lifting her chin up. "I don't want to go anywhere with a boy, in fact. Except you," she added quickly.

Fred looked at her for a moment as though unsure what to say and then squeezed her shoulder and let out a chuckle. "Your dad'll be glad to hear that," he said.

They waited in the Entrance Hall for another ten minutes. When they finally got past Filch, Fred took Rose by the elbow and led her to one of the carriages. He helped her up (Rose discovered, to her embarrassment, that she was too short to get in by herself) and then climbed in himself, sitting across from her and stretching out his legs.

The carriage began rolling forward, carrying them across the Hogwarts grounds and towards the village. On the ride there, Fred told her stories about Hogsmeade and about how, in the Battle of Hogwarts, her parents and Uncle Harry had apparated into the village in order to get to the school and fight off Voldemort and his death eaters.

When they arrived in the village Rose's head swiveled around as she took everything in. Fred climbed out of the carriage and helped her down and directed her to a brightly lit bar nearby.

"This is the Three Broomsticks," he said as they walked through the door. The place was already packed with Hogwarts students, with a middle-aged barman delivering drinks.

Fred found a table near the middle of the bar and slid into one of the seats, gesturing for Rose to follow him. "You just go up to the bar and ask for what you want," he said, pointing towards the back of the establishment, where the tall barstools were occupied by several goblins and what looked like a hag.

Rose nodded, still looking around with wide eyes. Fred got up and went to get their butterbeers. He returned a few minutes later and slid one of the bottles over to Rose.

"So how is my favorite cousin doing?" he asked as he popped the top off his bottle and took a drink.

"Good," Rose answered, imitating Fred and taking a big gulp from her bottle. The sweet butterbeer coursed through her and warmed her from the inside out. "I finally learned how to do the Pawlak Dive yesterday at quidditch practice, did Dom tell you?"

"She didn't," Fred said, leaning forward and setting his bottle down. "That's a really advanced move."

"She didn't think I'd be able to do it this year," Rose said proudly, sitting up straighter in her chair and grinning. "She thought I'd have to practice with Aunt Ginny over the summer in order to get it but I worked on it every day in practice and made Dom and Maren stay late with me some days and I finally did it yesterday."

"Excellent, Rosie!" Fred cried, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder and taking another drink of his butterbeer. "You're going to be one hell of a keeper, and everyone knows it. I can't wait to see your first match. D'you know when it is?"

"November 20th," Rose answered promptly, having memorized the dates of all their matches the night after tryouts. "Against Hufflepuff."

"Oh, a sibling rivalry then," Fred grinned. "Will Hugo root for his house or for his sister?"

"Dunno," Rose shrugged. "I'd like him to root for me but if he doesn't, I understand."

"Really?" Fred raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't be angry at all?"

"Well—" Rose hesitated and took a sip of butterbeer. "As long as he didn't root against me specifically—"

"Okay, I get it," Fred said. "He can root against Ravenclaw but not against you. So, he can't cheer if you let in a goal."

"I'm not going to let in any goals," Rose said. "I'm going to save every single one."

"Of course you are, I'm sorry for suggesting otherwise," Fred grinned. "And I'll be there cheering for you every time you make a spectacular save. And I'm sure your dad will be right there next to me."

"Will you wear a Ravenclaw scarf too?" Rose asked eagerly, leaning forward and widening her eyes pleadingly. "Please, Freddy, we aren't playing against Gryffindor—"

Fred hesitated, taking a drink of his butterbeer and looking at something over Rose's shoulder.

"Please, please, Fred, just for the one match—"

"Fine," he acquiesced, setting his bottle down with a shake of his head. "I suppose if you aren't playing Gryffindor I can wear a Ravenclaw scarf."

"Oh, brilliant!" Rose cried, beaming at him. "Dad said he and my mum have already got theirs and I know Maren's dad has too."

"Shall I make everyone Weasley Is Our King badges as well?" Fred asked.

"No!" Rose shouted, nearly toppling her drink. "Please, no," she added in a quieter voice, ignoring the stares that were now coming their way. "I don't want everyone having one."

"I was just teasing anyway," Fred said. "Don't worry. No one else is going to have one of those badges. Although, I wouldn't mind one. I might ask Dad if he's kept one somewhere."

"And we could both have one!" Rose exclaimed. "Oh, I wouldn't mind that at all!"

"Hello, you two," a new voice said.

Rose looked up to find James standing next to their table, two butterbeers clutched in his hands.

"Hi," Rose said, scooting over to make room. "Are you meeting someone?"

"No," James answered, sitting down next to her and setting the two bottles on the table. "One of these is for Lily. I'm stopping by Uncle George's and then going back to the castle. But I thought I'd stop and chat for a minute."

"What if we don't want to chat with you?" Rose asked cheekily, giggling when James pretended to smack her.

"Everyone wants to chat with me, Rosie," he said, puffing out his chest. "I'm rather important in case you haven't heard."

"Maybe you should inform everyone else of that," Rose said. "As you seem to be the only person under that impression."

James shook his head and laughed before swiping Rose's butterbeer bottle and taking a drink.

"Hey!" she scowled and made to grab it. "That's mine!"

"That's what you get for teasing me," James said, handing her back the bottle and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "That hurt my feelings, you know."

"It did not," Rose scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, what if it did?" James asked.

"But it didn't."

"Maybe it did."

"It didn't, you prat."

"Shut it," Fred called out, shaking his head in exasperation. "James," he said, turning to his best friend, "did you hear that our little cousin Rosie managed to pull off a Pawlak Dive at practice yesterday?"

"Really?" James asked, turning to stare at Rose with wide eyes. "But—that took me _months_ to learn!"

"Maybe I'm just a better flyer," Rose smirked.

"Rose, don't start," Fred cut in. He looked back at James with a grin. "Reckon we can get a betting pool going?"

"On Rose?"

"No, you idiot. On the match."

"You can't bet on the match!" Rose cried. "Or you can't plan it while I'm here! You'll jinx it! You're going to make me play badly."

"Don't worry, Rosie, we won't tell you if we actually do start a betting pool," James reassured her with a pat on the shoulder.

"What's the betting pool on?"

Rose looked up again and found Roxanne, accompanied by the Scamanders, raising her eyebrows and looking from Fred to James.

"Quidditch," the two boys said in unison.

"Which match?" she asked, sliding into the seat beside Fred. Lorcan sat next to her. Lysander sat next to James, grinning over him at Rose.

Rose's face went red and she gave a short, jerky wave before quickly turning her attention back to Fred and James.

"Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff," James told her. He raised his eyebrows and glanced back at Rose. "Apparently Rosie here can do a Pawlak Dive now."

"You can?" Roxanne gaped at Rose. "Since when? Aunt Ginny can't have taught it to you—"

"I learned at practice," Rose said, trying and failing not to look too pleased with herself. "Dom and Maren helped me."

"She really did it too," Ly added, giving Rose an approving nod. "I saw her yesterday. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone pick it up that fast; she was a natural."

Rose's blush intensified and she didn't answer.

"I'll be damned," Roxanne said. Her face cleared and bloomed into a smile as she suddenly looked between Fred and James. "D'you think she could learn the Fall Feint?"

James furrowed his brow thoughtfully and Fred frowned.

"What's that?" Rose asked quietly, looking eagerly between her cousins.

"It's a Weasley move," Roxanne said cryptically.

"Er—"

"It's incredibly dangerous," Fred said slowly, looking up at Rose. His frown deepened and he added, "You really shouldn't try it at all."

"What's so dangerous about it?" Rose asked.

"Well—the entire maneuver is that you pretend to fall off your broom—" Fred began, his face twisting in consternation.

"And then hold on with your hands," James continued for him. "And when the quaffle comes you hoist yourself back on the broom and kick the quaffle across the pitch. Your dad invented it on accident."

"Wow," Rose breathed, already imagining herself pulling off such a maneuver and being the talk of the school. No, being the talk of the entire quidditch world. Maybe _Quidditch Quarterly_ would interview her—

"You're not trying it at school," Fred said firmly, now frowning at his sister. "Rox, you shouldn't have brought it up."

"I want to try it!" Rose cried.

Roxanne smiled and turned to her brother. "Fred, she might be able to—"

"No. She really shouldn't try it at all, let alone at school. Why would you even suggest it? Look at her, she's going to go and try it now and probably fall off her broom and scare us all to death—"

"She's a good flyer—"

"She's thirteen!"

"I think I can do it!" Rose exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her chair in her excitement. "Really!"

"Rosie, you think you can do everything," Fred said gently. He pushed his butterbeer away and closed his eyes. "And that's not even a real move, honestly. I've never seen it done in a professional match—"

"I can be the first one to do it, then!"

"No." Fred's tone brooked no argument. Rose looked up in surprise and saw his mouth was in a thin line, and he was looking at her with an expression that was a good imitation of her father's when he was upset.

"If you really want to try," Fred continued, "write your parents and ask them about it. But I think they'll tell you the same thing I am. It's too dangerous. It's a stupid risk to take. Roxanne shouldn't have brought it up."

"Sorry, Rosie," Roxanne said, giving Rose a sympathetic smile. "Maybe Aunt Ginny will practice it with you over Christmas."

Rose stuck out her lip and looked between her cousins. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," Fred answered. He reached out and tugged at the end of her braid. "Sorry, Rosie Posie," he said. "We just don't want you getting hurt."

"Alright," Rose sighed, sinking down into her seat.

"Here," Fred said, standing up and coming around the table so he stood beside Rose. "Want to come with me to get another butterbeer?"

"Okay," Rose said. She got out of her seat and followed Fred to the bar.

They ordered their drinks and meandered back to the table. When they got back to their seats, Rose inhaled sharply and felt a dull thud in her stomach. She was sure her heart had fallen right out of her chest.

Lorcan and Lysander had traded seats so Lorcan now sat next to James. Ly, nice, athletic Ly with the pretty eyes and the nice hair, was sitting next to Roxanne with his arm around her shoulder and was playing with the ends of her braid and whispering something while Roxanne blushed.

"Ahem," Fred cleared his throat loudly, putting his butterbeer bottle down on the table with more force than necessary.

Ly looked up and hastily moved away from Roxanne, though his arm stayed around her shoulders. Rose felt her face burn and she thought at that moment she would like nothing more than to find the closest loo and cry until someone took pity on her and carried her back to the castle.

"Scamander, I know I said I'm alright with this," Fred said, gesturing between his sister and Ly. "But that doesn't mean I want to see you two— _canoodling_ —in public."

"Canoodling?" Roxanne snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut it," Fred muttered. He glared at his sister one last time and then slid into the seat beside her.

Rose swallowed heavily and took a deep breath. She pasted a smile on her face and sat down beside Lorcan. When she looked up Ly gave her a smile. Her eyes began to burn dully and Rose held her breath to stop tears from falling as her face continued to boil.

"Er—well, I think we're going to get on," Roxanne said after a moment, looking between her brother and Lysander. "I'll see you lot later."

There were scattered mutterings of "goodbye," and lots of shuffling as Roxanne and the Scamanders got up and left the bar. When the front door banged shut Rose looked up at Fred.

"I didn't know Rox and Ly were together," she said, trying to keep a quiver out of her voice.

"It just happened," Fred said, swirling his butterbeer around. "She didn't want anyone to know. And they're good about not being disgusting for the most part."

"They should tell people," Rose said quietly. She breathed in and forced herself to take a drink of butterbeer.

"That's what I said," James chimed in.

Rose jumped. She'd almost forgotten he was there.

"It's not like anyone doesn't like Ly," James continued, shrugging. "I think most of the family loves him."

"You like him an awful lot, don't you, Rosie?" Fred asked.

"Er—" Rose bit her lip, trying to keep her mouth in a straight line. "Yeah. I like him."

"She could do a lot worse," James said casually.

"As long as he doesn't pull anything—" Fred muttered.

Wanting to distract herself, Rose craned her neck and began surveying the other patrons of the Three Broomsticks. The goblins and hag still sat at the bar, though now they were joined by Professor Lecher and Professor Flitwick. Various tables in the establishment were filled with familiar faces. Rose caught sight of Matthew Corner and a Hufflepuff boy drinking butterbeer together and trading chocolate frog cards. In a far corner, Katrina DeMarco and Milo Remington sat very close together and were sharing a butterbeer—blech. Along one of the walls, Rose spotted Dom and Molly sitting with a group of friends, sipping their drinks and giggling.

Her eyes wandered over the cramped tables until they zeroed in on one in particular. Along the far wall, squashed in a tiny table and each clutching their bottles of butterbeer nervously, Allie Boot and Scorpius Malfoy both leaned towards each other and were deep in conversation. Rose's face burned hot again and she had the urge to smash something—to break something—to take out her wand and decimate something. How was it fair that right after her own heart was ripped from her chest and torn to shreds she was presented with her friend—one of her best friends—and a boy she despised—who were the picture of romantic bliss, huddled up in a crowded bar, too caught up in each other to even notice the world around them?

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. Rose's breath hitched as she continued to stare at Scorpius and Allie, at their stupid butterbeer and their stupid interesting conversation and Scorpius's stupid silver eyes that were trained on Allie and Allie's stupid magazine-model hair.

Tears began to creep out of the corner of her eyes before Rose could stop them and without thinking she wiped them away with her sleeve.

"Rosie?" Fred asked, drawing Rose's attention away from Scorpius and Allie. He leaned over the table and looked at her intently. "What's wrong?"

"Oh—nothing," Rose said in a wobbly voice, trying to smile but only succeeding in letting out a stifled sob. "I just—oh, Fred, everything's terrible."

"Woah, woah," Fred said, getting up from his seat and hurrying around the table to slide in the seat beside Rose. "What happened? What—is it because of that stupid quidditch move, because Rose, I'm sorry but it's just too dangerous for you to try—"

"It's not about the quidditch move," Rose cried, letting the tears run free. She didn't care that she was in the middle of a bar.

"Er, what is it about, then?" Fred asked, putting a hand on her shoulder and glancing around nervously. "It's—it's not a—a _girl thing_ —is it? Because if it is you should probably get Dom or Molly—"

"No, it's not that," Rose hiccupped, smacking him lightly in the chest.

"Okay, okay, sorry." Fred paused. "Er—okay, Rosie, here's what we're going to do. We're going to go to Dad's shop and go sit in the storage room and talk about this, alright? Nobody ever goes back there so we won't be bothered."

"A-are you sure?" Rose hiccupped, trying to staunch the flow of tears with her sleeve. "I f-feel bad for ruining y-your v-visit."

"You didn't ruin anything," Fred said firmly. He dug in his pocket and took out a galleon, which he laid on the table. Then he gently took Rose byy the elbow and helped her stand up, guiding her out of the pub and into the busy street.

Rose followed Fred down the road to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The shop was full of colorful merchandise but Rose kept her eyes on the floor and followed her cousin's feet to the back of the store, where he opened a heavy wood door and ushered her in.

"Welcome to the storage room," Fred said, closing the door with a dull thud and taking out his wand to light the ceiling lamp.

Rose glanced around at the room. It was large, though the stacks of large boxes that cluttered the space made it seem small and cramped. "Should I sit?" she asked, looking around for something to use as a stool.

"Here," Fred grabbed an empty box and waved his wand, transfiguring it into a solid wood block the perfect height for Rose to sit on.

"Thanks," she said as she took it and sat down.

Fred transfigured another box into a seat for himself and sat down so that he was facing Rose. "Alright, Rosie Posie," he said, giving her a small smile and tugging at the end of her braid. "Tell me what's wrong."

With a sigh and a fresh wave of tears, Rose poured out the entire story of her unrequited fancy for Lysander Scamander.

"A-and now he's with R-roxy," she cried, hiding her face in her hands. "And I didn't even know! They must think I'm so silly and rude—"

"Rosie, nobody thinks that," Fred said gently. "I don't think either of them expected you to know, for one thing. And for another, it's not silly or rude to fancy someone. It's just the opposite, actually. It's supposed to be nice."

"Well it's not nice at all!" Rose spat.

Fred sighed and leaned over so his face was level with Rose's. "Do you want to hear a story?" he asked softly.

"A story?" Rose repeated, picking her head up and looking tentatively at Fred.

"A story," he confirmed. "About my second year here."

"Okay," Rose nodded, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve and peeling strands of hair off her face.

"Well," Fred began, taking a deep breath. "Do you know Marianne Knollwood?"

Rose shook her head.

"I figured, she's a bit older than you," Fred said. "She's in Dom's year and a Gryffindor. Well, my second year at Hogwarts she was a fourth year. And I thought she was perfect. I—what's a good word that's stronger than fancy?"

"Enamored," Rose supplied.

"Right," Fred nodded. "I was enamored. I thought she was just brilliant. I talked about her all the time; I think James was about ready to do me in that year. And I would wait up in the common room pretending to do homework to try and see her."

"No you didn't," Rose said, cracking a smile.

"I did," Fred said, shaking his head. "Isn't that embarrassing? And a few times she actually was there, too, but I was too scared to go and talk to her. So I just sat at a table for hours pretending to work."

Rose smiled a bit bigger at that.

"Well, that went on for most of the year. And then it was time for the Victory Ball. I knew she was a fourth year and so I thought—since I fancied her so much—I would ask her to go with me."

"But, Fred, you were a second year," Rose interrupted. "You couldn't even go—"

"I know," Fred replied, grimacing and running a hand through his hair. "It wasn't my best idea, alright? Well, a few weeks before the ball I passed her in the corridor and decided it was now or never. So I went up to her and asked her if she'd like to go to the Victory Ball with me."

"Oh no," Rose gasped, throwing a hand over her mouth, though not before a short giggle leaked through.

"Yes," Fred nodded.

"What did she say?" Rose asked, the corners of her mouth now curling up again.

"She said no, of course," Fred said. "Though she was very nice about it. Said she already had a date but thank you so much, she was very flattered. And, well, you can imagine my reaction. I was crushed. Thought my heart was broken. Told James I would never find a girl I liked as well as Marianne."

"But you did?" Rose asked, her eyes widening.

"No, no," Fred said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, I don't think anymore that I'll never find someone else. I think there are loads of girls out there that I'll like just as much or even more than I liked Marianne. And maybe some of them will agree to go out with me, even. And, Rosie, in the end, the whole episode with Marianne—it doesn't matter. No one even brings it up anymore except James when he's trying to be funny."

Rose nodded and bit her lip.

"And this thing with Ly—" Fred continued, "I know it's bad now. But it won't matter soon. And I promise there are loads of blokes out there that you'll like even better than Lysander, though I hope to Merlin you never find them and stay single for the rest of your life."

"Hey!" Rose cried, frowning at him.

"I'm kidding," Fred chuckled. He stood up and held out a hand, which Rose took and used to hoist herself off her wooden seat. "So are you alright now?" he asked.

Rose considered for a moment and then nodded, giving Fred a smile. "I think so," she said.

"Excellent," he grinned. "What do you say we go back out there then? There's still a few hours left in the visit. You should go see your friends."

They stacked the wooden blocks and Fred extinguished the light before they pushed open the heavy door and reemerged into the bustling joke shop.

Rose waded through the stacks of bright merchandise until she reached the front door with Fred right behind her. She pushed open the door and walked out into the crisp October air.

"Thanks, Fred," she said, turning around and opening her arms to give her cousin a hug.

"Not a problem, Rosie," he answered. He squeezed her for a second and then released her, swiveling his head around the street and squinting at passersby. "Should we find your friends?" he asked.

It didn't take long to find them. Rose caught sight of Albus's trademark messy hair halfway down the street and took off running, nearly knocking him over.

"Oof—"

"Rosie! What was that for?"

"I was excited to see you," Rose said innocently, releasing Al and grinning. "I haven't seen you all day."

"You didn't have to tackle me," Albus muttered, straightening his cloak with a huff.

"Oh don't be such a baby," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Rosie, I'm going off to have a butterbeer with some mates!" Fred called over the group, his dark eyes sparkling as he waved. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Of course!" Rose called back, returning his wave and smiling. "Thanks, Fred!"

"No problem, Rosie!" he shouted as he jogged down the street.

Rose turned to survey the group. Albus, Nathan, Lucy and Maren were all loaded down with Honeydukes bags and Albus, Nathan and Maren also held large Weasley Wizard Wheezes bags.

"Fun day?" she asked.

"Brilliant," Lucy replied. Her hair was in a ponytail and her cheeks were tinged pink from the wind. "We were just going to go look at the Shrieking Shack."

"Scorpius is a bit scared of it, so I can never see it when I'm with him," Nathan said, adjusting his grip on his shopping bags.

"What's there to be scared of?" Rose asked haughtily. It was just a building. And everyone knew that the ghost stories were false.

"Just some things his dad told him about it," Nathan shrugged. "From the war. Scorpius doesn't want to go near it."

"He says he doesn't want to think about the things that happened in there," Albus added.

"Well, he's not here now so we can go look as much as we want," Rose said.

They began trekking through the street towards the old, abandoned house.

"Did you see Scorpius and Allie in the Three Broomsticks?" Lucy asked. "They were so cute. Really, I told Maren they look like something out of a magazine."

"I thought they looked like something out of a movie," Maren added.

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, once again feeling the urge to smash something at the thought of Scorpius and Allie sitting together and talking the afternoon away in their cramped little corner of the pub. "I saw them."

She dropped her eyes to the ground and tried to focus only on putting one foot in front of the other, going from one place to another.

They got to the fence that separated the grounds of the Shrieking Shack from the rest of the village. The third years all dropped their bags and put their hands up to the fence, peering through to see the decrepit building.

"Isn't it awful?" Nathan said quietly, his eyes wide.

Rose nodded solemnly, her mind on something far away from the Shrieking Shack. "It sure is bloody awful," she agreed.

* * *

Edited 3/27/2017


	11. Chapter 11

Following the Halloween Hogsmeade visit, word flew around Hogwarts that Scorpius Malfoy and Allie Boot were officially going out. Rose rolled her eyes at the interest in the new couple and grumbled to Maren about the curious looks fellow Ravenclaws (and quite a few students from other houses) sent towards them.

"I don't know why they all care so much," Rose muttered over breakfast one grey November morning as she skewered a sausage with her fork. "They don't even do anything interesting, just sit and hold hands and whisper to each other."

"It's cute," Lucy sighed, turning to look at Allie, who was, sure enough, talking quietly to Scorpius and blushing bright red.

"It's silly," Rose mumbled. She took a bite of her sausage and moodily surveyed the Great Hall. It was full of the usual babble, with students exchanging gossip and hurriedly trying to finish late homework assignments.

The post came and Aslan brought a package for Rose and Lucy from Grandma Molly; it was full of fudge and cookies and a new pack of exploding snap cards. Rose grinned and threw the package to Lucy, who tucked it neatly in her bag before getting to her feet as it was nearly time for their lesson.

"We can have an exploding snap tournament tonight," Rose suggested as they walked through the Entrance Hall. "And we should ask Al and Nathan to come to our common room and join."

"Oh, lovely," Lucy nodded, smoothing her skirt and tightening her ponytail. "Scorpius would like it if there were more boys."

Rose didn't say anything. She hadn't realized Scorpius was automatically invited now.

The rest of the morning passed without event. Rose spent lunch looking over an ancient runes book she had checked out from the library, looking up alternative translations to hieroglyphics the class had already learned in an effort to piece together an advanced translation she had coaxed Professor Scribner into giving her. When she looked up and noticed students beginning to meander towards the hall for afternoon classes, Rose put her book back in her bag and got up from the Ravenclaw table, waiting for Allie out of habit.

"Oh, go on without me," Allie called over the table. Her arm was looped through Scorpius's and her face was twisted in a sickening smile as she glanced at him.

Rose opened her mouth and then closed it before shaking her head and walking alone towards the entrance hall.

"Hey," a voice said behind her. She turned to find Nathan Nott a few paces behind her, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. He smiled at her and jerked his head towards the Ravenclaw table. "I got ditched too."

"They bloody live in the same tower," Rose grumbled as Nathan fell into step beside her and they walked down the corridor. "I don't know why they have to walk to class together."

"They like spending time together," Nathan shrugged. "I don't mind that they're together so much, honestly. Scorpius is a bit of a nightmare to talk to now. He never shuts up about the fact he has a girlfriend."

Rose snorted. "A bit shocked someone actually agreed to go out with him?"

"No," Nathan shrugged. "Just shocked a girl he actually fancied agreed to go out with him."

"Right," Rose replied dully. Not wanting to get into a conversation about the feelings behind Allie and Scorpius's new relationship—if it could even be called that—she quickly added, "So are you and Al going to come up to Ravenclaw Tower soon so we can have an exploding snap tournament?"

"Yeah, Al told Lucy we'd come on Friday," Nathan answered. "Since we won't have to worry about homework that day."

"That's smart," Rose said with a nod. "You know," she continued, tilting her head to the side, "you ought to come up more. The only time we see you is in class or the library."

"Well it's a long walk," Nathan chuckled. "All the way from the dungeons to Ravenclaw Tower?"

"It's not that far!" Rose exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "And look how long your legs are, if I can walk there then so can you."

"But I don't see you walking from Ravenclaw Tower to the dungeons to see me and Al," Nathan pointed out with a grin.

"Maybe I don't want to hang out with you two gits," Rose muttered. She slowed down as they approached the ancient runes classroom.

Nathan simply laughed and opened the door, ushering her in and following behind her.

"How long d'ya think it'll be before Scorp and Allie get detention for snogging in the corridor?" he asked with a mischievous smirk as he sank into his seat.

"Eurgh—" Rose wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I don't want to even imagine that."

Professor Scribner walked through the door and Rose hurriedly dove her hand into her bag, extracting her library book and going to the front of the classroom to ask about the definition she had been checking at lunch. As she was walking back to her seat, Scorpius and Allie strolled through the door.

"Oh, Rosie," Allie said, releasing Scorpius's hand and walking beside Rose. "I wanted to ask you, would you mind if I traded seats with Nathan? I'd like to sit next to Scorpius—though if you don't want—"

"That's fine," Rose said quickly, thinking privately she would probably prefer sitting beside Nathan. At least then she wouldn't have to witness Allie and Scorpius making googly-eyes at each other.

"Thank you!" Allie whispered. She took Rose's hand and squeezed it and then skipped towards Nathan, who had apparently just been informed of the new seating arrangement as well.

"Looks like we're going to become quite good friends this year, Rose," Nathan said quietly to her when she slid into her seat.

Rose gave him a small smile and glanced over her shoulder at Scorpius and Allie, who were comparing homework answers in hushed voices. "Yeah," she said, turning back to Nathan. "It should be fun, don't you think?"

Nathan nodded and took out his homework. "I think it will be. Now, would you mind explaining number four on the homework to me? How in Merlin's name does that translate to a backwards broomstick? Why is there even a hieroglyphic for that?"

Rose laughed and took out her notes. "You're just as bad as Allie," she sighed. "But here, runes are actually quite simple—"

November slipped by and, as schoolwide interest in Scorpius and Allie waned, so did Rose's irritation with them. In fact, she found she rather liked the turn of events. For one thing, Nathan proved himself to be an excellent ancient runes partner. While not quite as enthusiastic about the class as Rose, he was by no means hopeless and actually managed to correct her once or twice. More than that, he was always good for a joke or quidditch debate in the event that class got boring.

For another thing, Scorpius rarely accompanied his friends to the library anymore. He and Allie preferred to do their studying together. While the thought of Allie and Scorpius cooped up in some cozy spot staring into each other's eyes over potions essays made Rose want to vomit, the fact she could now sit in the library without anybody casting dirty looks in her direction or pointedly ignoring her was a welcome change.

One particular evening Rose sat in the library with Lucy, Albus, Nathan, and Maren, hastily scratching away at her charms essay and casting covert looks towards the large ancient runes book poking out of her bag.

"Rose?" Albus asked, looking up from his own essay and frowning. "What was the hypothesis of Favreau's study of 1611 again?"

"When transfiguring an invertebrate being into a nonliving object, the wand movement must always end with a rightward jab," Rose rattled off, not lifting her head up. She crossed out a sentence and rewrote it as Albus nodded and bent over his parchment once again.

"How does that have anything to do with the principles of vertebrate transfiguration?" Lucy asked, her eyes widening as she hastily opened her textbook and began rifling through pages.

"Lyncroft said to include notes about different studies done on wand movement," Nathan answered. "For transfiguring an invertebrate to a nonliving object, Favreau found it's not a rightward jab, but a flick, and that started all the other studies we've been reading about that describe how different wand movements affect invertebrate, vertebrate, and nonliving subjects differently."

Lucy nodded and bit her lip. "So when transfiguring a vertebrate being—"

"It depends what you want to transfigure it into," Rose explained, writing her last sentence with a sense of finality and pushing her essay away before turning to Lucy. She leaned over Maren and pointed to a passage in Lucy's transfiguration book. "Right now we're only transfiguring it into a nonliving object, because that's just simple transfiguration that requires a wave and counterclockwise circle. I think vertebrate to invertebrate is what we study next year, and then vertebrate to vertebrate isn't until N.E.W.T. level."

"Where did the counterclockwise circle come from?" Albus asked suddenly, his head snapping up. "I don't remember reading about having to do a counterclockwise circle."

"It's in the section on the Haywood experiments of 1805," Rose said, sitting back in her seat. "The circular motion of the wand is essentially what makes the subject's spine disappear; I think it has something to do with the magical properties of a circle and the Phoenix Law we talked about last week."

"Ergh," Lucy grumbled, slumping in her seat and glaring at her essay. "I hate transfiguration."

"It's not too bad," Nathan responded, smiling at Lucy across the table.

Lucy crossed her arms and huffed. "I just don't see why everything has to be so complicated! None of the other subjects are like this, with all the studies and laws and rules—"

"Er—Luce—yes they are," Albus said, picking up his parchment to read over what he had written. He raised an eyebrow at Lucy. "Do you not remember the three foot essay we had to write for Lecher last week about the properties and laws of water-based potions?"

"That was different," Lucy muttered, biting her lip and pulling at her ponytail.

"No, you're just good at potions so you didn't think it was difficult," Nathan grinned.

"I—well—no—"

"Come on, Lucy," Maren chuckled, tossing a wadded up ball of parchment across the table. "You're being worse than Rose right now."

"Hey!" Rose and Lucy cried in unison, glaring at their friend.

Maren only laughed and said in a high pitched voice, "No, no, I'm doing terribly in school! I have all O's but I'm second in potions!"

Lucy's frown broke into a small smile and the boys all laughed at Maren's imitation.

Rose scowled at her friend. "I do not say that," she said moodily, leaning over to take out her ancient runes book. She made a show of plopping it on the table and rifling through the pages, not looking up at her friends.

Maren snickered beside her and Rose rolled her eyes, tossing her hair over her shoulder and leaning forward to read the faded pages.

"Oh, come on, Rose," Maren chided, poking her in the ribs. "It's a joke."

"Well I did not find it very funny," Rose said loftily, turning the page energetically and giving a delicate sniff.

"You'd find it funny if I said it about someone else."

"No one else here has all O's so you really couldn't have done."

"Oh, sod off, Weasley." Maren took her wand and smacked Rose on the head with it.

"Ow!" Rose cried, jerking a hand to her head. She turned to glare at Maren, but when she caught her friend's eye she couldn't help a smile from creeping through. "You're ridiculous," she muttered, putting her hand down and shaking her head.

"You're no better," Maren answered cheerfully, stowing her wand back in her bag. "Now, since you're all high and mighty and have all O's, help me with this herbology homework, will you? I don't know the first thing about Twist Constricting Vines."

The end of November also brought an increase in quidditch practices, as Ravenclaw's first match against Hufflepuff was approaching quickly. Rose was in her element, spending much of her time out on the quidditch pitch practicing with the team or running drills with Dom.

Being on the team was not everything Rose had dreamed it would be. As it turned out, she couldn't save every goal; she let in several every practice. And she wasn't flying circles around the other players. Some nights Dom put them through hours of drills that made Rose feel as though she were going to keel over from exhaustion and plummet to her death. But she loved every minute of it. And every time she mastered a new maneuver, or managed to shave time off her full-pitch flying time, something in Rose's chest soared and she felt as though she were on top of the world.

The first match of the year was Slytherin vs Gryffindor and Rose gratefully took a day off of practicing to go watch her cousins play. In an effort to support both Al and her Gryffindor cousins, she wore a red jumper and a green slytherin scarf, which attracted several stares at breakfast.

"Rosie," Fred groaned when he saw her. "I promised to wear a Ravenclaw scarf for your first match and you show up on the day of my match wearing the opposing team's colors?"

"I'm sorry!" Rose cried. "But I have to try and support Al too, and you know it wouldn't be fair if I wore only Gryffindor colors—"

"I'm teasing, I'm teasing," Fred said, squeezing her shoulder. "I'm just giving you a hard time. Give me a break, I'm nervous."

"You're going to play brilliantly," Rose said. "You've got the best aim out of all the beaters in the school."

"I don't know about that," Fred grimaced, glancing towards the Slytherin table. "Xavier Smith's got a new Nimbus and from what I hear, his father had him take private lessons with the Puddlemere United beaters over the summer."

"Xavier Smith can barely fly and carry his bat at the same time," Rose scoffed. "You're going to outplay him without even trying."

"I hope so," Fred sighed, giving Rose a forced smile and ruffling her hair before suddenly waving her away. "Now stop distracting me. I have to get into my zone."

Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head but didn't comment as she walked back towards the Ravenclaw table where Maren and Lucy were waiting for her.

"So who are we rooting for?" Maren asked as the girls walked out to the quidditch pitch. She had opted to stay neutral and wear her Ravenclaw scarf, which she now tugged at.

"I don't know," Rose sighed, wrapping her arms tightly around her torso to shield herself from the harsh November wind. "I _can't_ root against Al; I want him to do well. But then, even though I love him and Nathan, I _do not_ want Slytherin to win. But if they don't win, Al won't be happy and he's worked so hard. But I want James, Roxy and Fred to do well also! And James gets so upset when Gryffindor loses. I just—I'm not sure."

"I think we may have to remain neutral on this one," Lucy said sagely, pushing hair out of her face. "And face the fact that at least one of our cousins will be upset after the match."

"Ugh," Rose whined, making a face. "Why couldn't we all just be in the same house? This would be so much easier!"

"And that house would have an unstoppable quidditch team," Maren added. "Though I'm not sure I would have made it then, so it's probably for the best you're all split up."

"Oh, hush," Rose swatted Maren in the shoulder. "You would've made it. You're a bloody brilliant chaser. But—I hate having to root against someone! Especially one of my cousins! I can't do it, I want them all to win."

"Maybe they'll tie," Lucy suggested.

Rose snorted. "You know neither team will let that happen," she said.

They made their way to the stands and found seats beside Nathan, who sat in between the Gryffindor and Slytherin fans.

"You made it!" Nathan waved as the girls sat down.

"Did you really think we would miss this?" Rose asked with a raised eyebrow. "Half our family's playing."

"We weren't sure you two would be able to pick a team to root for," Nathan said, adjusting his green jumper. "Although," he glanced at Rose and took in her clashing ensemble, "it looks like you didn't really pick a team."

"No, I didn't," she responded, sitting up straight and adjusting her Slytherin scarf so that the scarlet jumper underneath was plainly visible. "I can't pick between my cousins. I'm not rooting for either team, I just want my family to play well."

"I wouldn't expect anything different from you," Nathan commented. "Of course," he gestured to his own emerald jumper and scarf, "I'm clearly biased for this match, but I appreciate your sportsmanship."

"Oh, it has nothing to do with sportsmanship," Rose laughed. "If Al wasn't playing I would have my face painted red and may have asked Aunt Luna to send her old Gryffindor lion hat."

"Well thank Merlin he's playing then," Maren broke in with a snort. "Red face paint would look horrible with your hair and I really don't think I'd sit with you if you showed up wearing a lion hat."

"Me either," Lucy added, crinkling her nose.

"You two just have no house spirit," Rose shook her head.

"I have plenty of house spirit for _my_ house," Maren said.

Rose opened her mouth to reply when a voice behind her chirped "Hello you lot! Mind if we sit with you?"

She turned and saw Dominique dropping into a nearby seat without waiting for an answer to her question. She was followed by Molly, Louis, Hugo and Lily. Dom and Molly were dressed neutrally in their Ravenclaw scarves. Louis and Hugo both wore Hufflepuff colors, though Rose noticed her brother was also sporting an emerald hat and jumper. Lily, on the other hand, was decked out in head to toe scarlet, right down to the large red bow clipped in her hair.

"Well we all know who Lily's cheering for," Lucy laughed, scooting over to make room for the cousins.

"You didn't think I would cheer for _Slytherin_ did you?" Lily asked indignantly, putting her hands on her hips and scowling. "Just because Albus is on the team doesn't mean I have to like them."

"Of course not," Molly said, the corner of her mouth twitching up as she turned towards her younger cousin. "Weren't you just telling James this morning how he should have the beaters aim the bludgers towards Al's left side if he goes for the snitch, because he has trouble moving quickly to the right?"

"I did," Lily grinned proudly, sticking her chin out and tossing her hair. "Ever since Al fell this summer, his broom always drifts towards the left and he's still not very good at moving to the right if he's caught by surprise."

"You're quite devious for an eleven-year-old," Nathan said with a raised eyebrow. "And isn't that cheating to tell James that when he's playing against Al today?"

"There's nothing in the rules that says it's cheating," Lily shrugged, sitting up straighter and looking very pleased with herself. "And James said if Gryffindor wins he'll let me stay in the common room late tonight and have butterbeer with him."

"Well at least James knows how to utilize all his resources," Dom chuckled.

"Oh, and don't forget," Molly added suddenly, looking around at the cousins, "Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina are all here to watch the match and want us to go say hello afterwards."

"Excellent," Hugo grinned. "Uncle George and I made a bet about who would win, so he can pay me straight away."

"What makes you so sure you're going to win?" Rose asked, turning around to frown at her brother. "And who did you bet on?"

"Albus," Hugo said proudly. "He's been training with Aunt Ginny at Uncle Bill's house since last Easter without anyone else knowing."

"How did you—?"

Their attention was diverted as James and the Slytherin captain, Chelsea Bones, shook hands on the pitch and then mounted their brooms as Mr. Wood blew his whistle to indicate the beginning of the match.

"Welcome to the first match of the year," the magnified voice of River Jordan, a sixth year Gryffindor, greeted them. "It's Slytherin versus Gryffindor and it ought to be a good one. James Potter and Chelsea Bones have both put together strong line ups this year, and we have a family rivalry again as James Potter's younger brother Albus is returning as the Slytherin seeker. Last year Gryffindor just edged out Slytherin and we'll see if James is able to do the same this year, or if his younger brother will be victorious."

Rose laughed and looked at James and Albus's figures in the air. They both loved quidditch, she knew, and James had lorded it over Al all summer that Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin the year before, much to Al's irritation.

"And the quaffle is up!" River called as Mr. Wood threw in the red ball. "Shannon Warrington of Gryffindor takes possession immediately and is flying down the pitch. Warrington passes to Potter. Potter passes to Weasley—Roxanne Weasley, that is—Weasley passes back to Warrington—Warrington is at the goal—she shoots to the left—and she scores! Slytherin keeper Mathias Bletchley just misses. Bletchley throws the quaffle to Bones and Bones takes off down the pitch. She dodges a bludger—dodges James Potter— _ooh that looked like it'll leave a bruise!_ Bones is hit by a bludger sent by Fred Weasley and manages to stay on her broom but loses the quaffle which is picked up by James Potter. "

"They all really want to win," Lucy whispered to Rose, watching the match with wide eyes. "Did you see how hard Fred hit that bludger towards Chelsea? Aren't they friends?"

"That's quidditch," Rose whispered back, not taking her eyes off the pitch.

"What if someone gets hurt?" Lucy asked, turning around to look at Dom and Molly.

"Then they'll be taken to the hospital wing and patched up in no time," Molly said firmly, tugging at Lucy's ponytail. "Don't worry about it, Luce. You've seen quidditch matches before and they've all turned out alright, haven't they?"

"I suppose," Lucy murmured, chewing on her lip. "This one just seems particularly—"

"Brutal?" Nathan supplied, smiling over Rose at Lucy. "Don't worry," he said, tightening his scarf. "They all know what they're on about. And Wood is good about calling fouls and stopping any dirty strategy."

"Okay," Lucy nodded slowly. "I just hope—"

A collective gasp from the crowd drowned out Lucy's comment and River Jordan screamed from the commentator's stand "And Xavier Smith nearly unseats Roxanne Weasley with a ferocious hit! She's still on her broom and somehow still has the quaffle, that's some impressive skill there! And now it looks like her brother, Fred Weasley, is out for blood and flying across the pitch. And—oh no! Smith sends another bludger headed towards Roxanne Weasley—"

Rose sucked in a breath and leaned forward in her seat, watching Fred jerk his broom around and take off towards his sister, the bat in his hand poised to swing at any moment.

"And Fred Weasley manages to intercept the bludger," River called. "Roxanne Weasley is headed down the pitch again—she passes to Warrington—Warrington to Potter—Potter back to Warrington—oh! Aaron Bibbley manages to take the quaffle from Warrington! Bibbley flies down the pitch—passes to Bones—Bones back to Bibbley—Bibbley is at the goal! He shoots—ah! And Gryffindor keeper Alec Davies manages to save it!"

Lily let out a loud whoop of excitement and Rose turned to laugh at her cousin. When she did so she caught sight of Allie and Scorpius entering the stands, hand in hand. Beside her, Nathan turned around and waved his friend over.

"You found us!" he called, beaming as Scorpius and Allie sat in front of Rose and Lucy.

"You weren't very hard to find," Scorpius responded, adjusting the Slytherin scarf he wore around his neck and eyeing the group warily. "Between the Weasleys and the fact that half of you are wearing Ravenclaw clothing, it was pretty obvious."

"They didn't want to choose sides," Nathan explained, gesturing towards Rose and her cousins.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze towards Rose, who felt her face heat up and determinedly turned back to the match. Her scarlet jumper felt very uncomfortable now and she had the urge to tear off her Slytherin scarf.

"How's Al playing?" Scorpius asked Nathan quietly, turning in his seat to watch the game.

"Not bad," Nathan replied, leaning forward in his seat. "I'm just glad he got out on the pitch. I thought he was going to have a fit this morning, he was so nervous."

Scorpius nodded and fiddled with the ends of his scarf. "He should be fine. He always thinks he's going to play like dung and he always ends up doing well."

Rose twisted a piece of hair around her finger and shifted slightly towards the boys. She kept her eyes on the pitch but barely watched the match. She was so used to being around Scorpius because of Nathan and Allie she forgot that the blond boy was really friends with Albus. She felt a stroke of shame pass over her as well; she hadn't even thought to check up on Al that morning, having assumed he would be as excited and irritating as James.

"I think Al sees the snitch!" Hugo's voice cried out.

Rose's head snapped up and she quickly scanned the pitch for Albus, kicking herself for letting her attention drift for more than a few seconds. She found Al, speeding across the pitch in a flash of emerald. Behind him, the Gryffindor seeker was trying to catch up.

"The two seekers are both racing towards the end of the pitch," River screeched, her voice cracking in excitement. "Albus Potter leads while Kennedy Cutler is hot on his heels! Potter swerves to the left and—oh Merlin that was close! Potter swerves to the right and barely avoids a bludger hit by Weasley—"

"No," Lily groaned beside Rose, putting her face in her hands.

A deafening roar engulfed the stands as the Slytherins all rose to their feet and cheered.

"Albus Potter caught the snitch!" River declared as, sure enough, Al lifted his right hand high in the air, clenching the little golden ball in his fist. "Albus Potter has caught the snitch; Slytherin wins!"

Nathan and Scorpius jumped to their feet and cheered with the Slytherins. After a moment of hesitation, Rose stood too and screamed and clapped as the players all landed gently on the ground.

"Go Albus!" she cried, a smile spreading across her face as she watched her cousin step on the ground and grin victoriously at the cheering crowd.

When the celebration had subsided, Rose and Lucy waved goodbye to their friends and trooped down to the pitch with their cousins to congratulate Al, comfort their Gryffindor cousins, and say hello to their aunts and uncles.

"That was brilliant, Al!" Rose cried when she reached the pitch, running towards Albus and flinging her arms around him.

"Thanks, Rosie," he answered, returning the hug and then releasing her, grinning madly. "That bludger Fred sent towards me was right terrifying, though."

"You have Lily to thank for that," Rose shook her head, gesturing towards Lily who was talking animatedly with her parents. "She told James that your left side was weak."

"Of course she did," Albus rolled his eyes. "But we still won."

"All because of you."

"Don't say that, do you know how much pressure that puts on me?"

Rose laughed and shook her head. "It's still true, though."

"Yeah, well," Al shrugged, ruffling his hair, "I'd rather not think about it like that."

"Think about what?" the unmistakable voice of Uncle Harry rang out. Rose turned and squealed as she ran to hug her uncle.

"Al's being thick and not taking credit for winning the match," she said as embraced Uncle Harry.

"There's nothing wrong with being humble," Uncle Harry laughed, reaching over Rose to ruffle Al's hair. "Well done today though, Al. It looks like Mum's really helped you."

"Yeah," Albus flushed and then craned his neck to look over his dad's shoulder. "Where'd she go? I wanted to ask her about what she thought of my speed."

"She's with James right now," Uncle Harry said, giving Al a pointed look. "They'll be back in a moment but your brother was—a bit upset."

Albus nodded and shuffled uncomfortably.

"So, Rosie," Uncle Harry said after a moment, giving her an appraising look as he took in her ensemble. "I see you couldn't decide who to support."

"Er—no, I decided to support both teams."

"That's my girl," Uncle Harry chuckled, putting an arm around Rose.

Rose opened her mouth to reply when a loud hiss of "James, stop being such a tosser and go tell him!" cut through the air, followed with the sound of someone getting smacked in the arm.

"And that would be your mum," Uncle Harry said to Al with a resigned smile.

Rose turned to see Aunt Ginny leading James back towards the family, one hand clenched around his upper arm and her face set in a determined glare. She broke into a smile when she saw Al and tugged James forward a bit faster. "Hello, darling," she said, wrapping her free arm around her younger son and kissing him on the head. "You played wonderfully today, I'm so proud."

"Eurgh, Mum, get off there are people here!" Al whispered, squirming out of his mother's hold and turning bright red.

Aunt Ginny rolled her eyes and tugged Al back to her, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I'll kiss my son when I see him," she said pointedly. "I don't get to see you for most of the year so for Godric's sake, I think it's perfectly within my right—"

"Mum, you're hurting my arm," James complained, scowling at his mother and trying to twist free.

"Oh, sorry, dear," Aunt Ginny said, releasing him and pushing him towards Al. "But, I do believe you had something to tell your brother?"

"Right," James muttered, his scowl deepening as he glared at his brother. "Good match," he ground out.

"You too," Albus nodded.

"We'll win the cup this year."

"Not if you're going to play like that all year."

"We played bloody brilliantly, _Albus Severus_ , and if you hadn't gone and caught the snitch—"

"Boys!" Uncle Harry bellowed, causing both his sons to snap their jaws closed and look at him warily.

"I thought you did great, James," Lily chirped. Rose started and looked at her cousin, not having noticed her reappearance.

James's face softened and he reached out to give his sister an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, Lil," he said. "We'll get'em next time."

"I don't know about that—"

"Albus," Uncle Harry said warningly.

"Oh, here come George and Angelina!" Aunt Ginny cried loudly, taking Albus and James by the arms and shepherding them down the pitch.

"Hello," Aunt Angelina called. She wore a faded Gryffindor scarf and had her long hair tied back in a braid. Behind her, Roxanne and Fred walked a bit dejectedly, though they both seemed to be taking the defeat better than James.

"Nice catch there, Al," Uncle George said with a wink. "Although if you'd saved it for the next match and let Gryffindor win today, you would've saved me five galleons."

Rose snorted as she remembered Hugo's bet with their uncle.

"Thanks," Albus mumbled, looking nervously between his cousins. "Er—yeah, I bet Gryffindor's going to destroy Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, though."

"Hey!" Rose cried, frowning at her cousin.

"Or—no, not destroy Ravenclaw—er—" Albus stammered, his face turning red again. "You'll all play brilliantly and—er—"

"We're all family here and just want everyone to play their best," Uncle Harry cut in. "And you all played brilliantly today. Especially you, Roxy," he nodded towards his niece, "holding onto the quaffle even after getting hit with a bludger? That was impressive."

"She takes after her mother," Uncle George said proudly, grinning at his daughter. "Angie and I were just talking and we might try to come up for every quidditch match, since we'll have a family member in nearly every one. And I forgot how much I enjoy Hogwarts quidditch. It's got none of the politics of the professional leagues now and I do love seeing Oliver so in his element."

"Maybe we'll do the same," Uncle Harry nodded, looking to Aunt Ginny and smiling. "And if Louis or Hugo play we'll have someone on every team in the school."

"Oh now that would be fun!" Aunt Angelina exclaimed. "A Weasley or Potter on every team!"

Rose groaned along with her cousins. "Then I could never root for anyone to win," Rose murmured. "It's so hard going to a match and trying to cheer for both teams!"

"It would make the games at the Burrow a lot more fun if they all played consistently during the school year," Aunt Ginny mused. "I'm sure Ron would love it too—"

"We could have an in-family tournament!"

"Big clinics for the whole family—"

"Woah, woah, woah," James broke in, abandoning his pouting to look between the four adults. "We're not turning summer family quidditch into _clinics_."

"Of course we won't, dear," Aunt Ginny said, reaching up to pat him on the shoulder.

"Good," James huffed.

"Well, I suppose we'd best be getting on," Uncle Harry said, checking his watch. "We're meeting Teddy and Andromeda for dinner soon."

There was a round of "Nice to see you" and "great match" and "see you lot soon," and then the four adults headed off back towards Hogsmeade together.

Rose shook her head at her family's antics and started walking back to the castle. Fred was a few steps ahead of her and Rose realized she hadn't been able to talk to him since before the match. She sped up and caught him by the elbow.

"Wha—oh, heya Rosie," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder and slowing down so she didn't have to trot to keep up with him.

"You played brilliantly today," Rose said earnestly.

"Thanks," Fred grunted. "Though it doesn't matter too much, since Al got the snitch."

"But you couldn't do anything about that," Rose argued, craning her neck to catch Fred's eye. "And the rest of the match you did great and you saved Roxy from getting hit by that bludger and everyone thought that was amazing—"

"Yeah remind me next time we play Slytherin to just knock Smith off his broom in the first ten seconds," Fred growled. "That git."

"You did better than him," Rose said. "You were the best beater on the pitch today."

Fred didn't say anything for a moment, just looked down at her quizzically. After a moment his face softened and he tugged at the ends of her hair and smiled. "Thanks, Rosie. I'm going to come to you after every Gryffindor loss, alright?"

"You'll only have one more this year," Rose declared.

"Really?" Fred raised his eyebrow. "And who will we lose to?"

Rose laughed and grinned. "To Ravenclaw, obviously."

The rest of the term flew by and Rose breathed a happy sigh when she walked through the front door of the Burrow for Christmas holidays. The last week had been a long one, between quidditch practice and the unreasonable amount of work all the professors had decided to assign. Rose had never been happier to be away from school.

"Oh, you're here!" Grandma Molly cried as she waddled into the front hall, her apron spattered with flour. She hurried over to Rose and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Hi Grandma," Rose choked out.

"Hello, dear," Grandma Molly said, leaning back and putting a hand to Rose's cheek. "Oh, it seems like I haven't seen you in so long. You look so much older!"

Rose flushed and smiled, looking down and thinking privately she looked just as freckly and messy as always. Though it was a bit reassuring that someone thought she looked older, even if that someone was her grandmother who didn't really count.

"Oh, and here's Albus!" Grandma Molly cried as Albus and James walked in, followed by Hugo and Lily. "Come here my darling, oh I missed you so much!" She seized Albus and pulled him into a ferocious hug, which looked to Rose like it must have been a bit painful for both parties seeing as Albus was now a few inches taller than their grandmother and his chin was pressed against her forehead.

"Lo Grandma," Albus muttered, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "Er—do you need help in the kitchen?"

"I always do," Grandma Molly smiled at him. "I've already set aside a pan for you, you're going to be in charge of the potatoes."

"Excellent," Albus flashed a smile and dug in his jeans pocket before extracting a crumpled piece of paper. "And would you like me to make the gravy too? I found a rather interesting recipe in _Witch Weekly_ last week and wasn't sure if you'd seen it—"

James snorted loudly and Albus stopped talking immediately, his ears going bright red as he turned in horror to look at his brother.

" _Witch Weekly_ , Al?" James sniggered.

"Shut it," Al mumbled, staring at the floor. "I got bored in charms."

"I'm sure," James rolled his eyes.

"Jamesy, I haven't said hello to you yet," Grandma Molly said loudly, leaning forward and dragging James by his sleeve until he was close enough for her to hug. Her head barely reached his chin. "You're getting so tall," she murmured.

"I'm nearly as tall as Dad now," James told her, straightening up.

"Oh dear," Grandma Molly sighed, looking up and frowning. "I'm going to have to resize your jumper this year then."

"Don't worry about it, Grandma," James reassured her. "I'm sure it'll fit."

The parents entered then, eliciting a big shout from Grandma Molly and ensuring all the kids fled the front hall.

Albus's new gravy recipe was a hit. Christmas holidays at the Burrow proceeded as they did every year. Rose spent her days lounging around, reading, and munching on Grandma Molly's biscuits.

Every evening Rose joined her mum and Hugo for their annual reading of A Christmas Carol. This year she and Hugo did most of the reading. On Christmas Eve, after they had finished the last stave, they went down to the living room to join the rest of the family for a night of eggnog and listening to the wireless, which Grandma Molly always insisted be turned to the Celestina Warbeck Christmas Spectacular.

Rose settled on the couch between James and Albus and accepted a glass of hot chocolate from her dad. Celestina Warbeck's voice warbled out of the radio and Rose leaned back, letting the familiar tune fade into the background. She looked around at her family, all twenty-six people crammed into her grandparent's house, sitting together and talking merrily or else simply leaning back and relaxing.

Teddy sat with Aunt Fleur and Lily in a corner, allowing the two girls to decide which shade of blush from Lily's makeup kit looked best with his skin tone. Dominique, Lucy, and Aunt Audrey were rifling through the latest issue of _Divination Designs_ , cooing over fancy dresses and expensive jewelry. Fred and Roxanne were sitting on the floor playing their parents in chess. In the back of the room, Rose spotted her parents sitting with Uncle Harry, all three of them with glassy, faraway looks on their faces as they stared out at the rest of the family. Her mum leaned her head against her dad's shoulder and he put his arm around her, playing with the ends of her hair. Uncle Harry watched his two friends for a moment and smiled, before turning back to the room. He caught Rose's eye and winked.

"Isn't it nice having everyone here?" Rose whispered to Albus, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "When everyone's just happy and not worried about anything."

"Yeah, it's nice," Albus yawned in reply. "Although I wish we could listen to something else. Celestina Warbeck always puts me to sleep."

"I don't know how you could possibly sleep through that," Rose laughed. "She sounds like a dying merperson."

"I guess I'm used to hearing that after spending so much time with you," Albus grinned, ducking when Rose went to hit him.

"Oy! I don't sound like that!"

"Alright, alright, I take it back, I'm sorry!"

Rose huffed but satisfied herself with punching Albus lightly in the shoulder. "I'm going to get more hot chocolate," she said, jumping up.

"Will you get me some?" Albus called.

"Not a chance," Rose responded without turning around.

In the kitchen she found the pitcher of hot chocolate her dad had made, kept warm by a warming charm, and poured a bit in her mug before searching through the pantry for marshmallows. She stared up at the cupboard and saw, to her chagrin, the marshmallows were on the very top shelf.

"Oh bugger," Rose muttered to herself. She glanced around and found she was thankfully alone in the kitchen. With gritted teeth, Rose then grabbed onto the door and hiked a foot up to rest on the lowest shelf before stepping down and trying to lift herself up.

"Er—Rosie?"

Rose whipped around at the sound of Lily's voice and immediately lost her balance, crashing to the floor with a yelp and a string of profanity.

"Are you okay?" Lily cried, running forward and peering down at Rose. "What were you climbing in the cupboard for?"

"I was trying to reach the marshmallows," Rose moaned, sitting up gingerly and rubbing her arm. "They're up too high."

"What's going on in here?" Uncle Harry asked, appearing in the doorway with a look of concern on his face. "Did something—Rosie, why are you on the floor?"

"I fell," Rose mumbled, standing up quickly. "I—er—"

"She couldn't reach the marshmallows," Lily explained to her father.

Rose glared at her cousin and straightened up. "They're on the top shelf!" she exclaimed defensively.

Uncle Harry looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh. He managed to keep a straight face as he approached Rose and looked over her arm. "Does anything hurt?" he asked.

"No," Rose answered, her face heating up. "I'm fine."

"Okay, it doesn't look like anything's too beaten up," Uncle Harry said, stepping back to examine the cupboard. He took out his wand and waved it once. The marshmallows floated lazily down and landed on the counter in front of Rose. "Next time just ask one of us if you can't reach something, okay?"

"Okay," Rose muttered. She snatched the marshmallows and her mug of hot chocolate and hurried back to the living room, dropping into her seat beside Albus.

"Had some issues in the kitchen, Rosie?" James smirked as she sat down.

Rose rolled her eyes and plopped two fat marshmallows in her drink. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said haughtily as she took a sip.

"It sounds like someone's a bit vertically challenged," James said. "A bit _short_ on luck tonight, didn't quite _measure up_ —"

"Are you done?" Rose asked with a flick of her hair.

"Sure, shortstack," James said.

A moment passed as Rose processed what he'd said.

And then:

" _What did you just call me?_ "

"D'you not like the new name, shortstack?" James asked, smiling innocently at her. "I thought it was rather clever myself."

"I—you—no!" Rose sputtered, sloshing hot chocolate onto the sofa as she scrambled to straighten up. "I'm not _that_ short!"

"You're the shortest one in the family," James said matter of factly, still fixing her with that shit eating grin that made her want to hex him.

"I am not!" Rose cried, casting around for someone who was smaller than her. She wasn't the shortest one in the family; she couldn't be. She was Rose Minerva Weasley, damnit, she couldn't be the shortest. "There's—er—"

"Lily passed you this summer," James pointed out, jerking his thumb towards his sister, who was, in fact, now noticeably taller than Rose. "And even Grandma Molly's taller than you."

"That's not true!" Rose whined. Although, now that James mentioned it, her eyes were only level with Grandma Molly's mouth most of the time.

"So, shortstack," James continued, leaning back and smiling broadly. "It looks like you're the family midget."

" _I'm not a midget!_ " Rose screamed. Her face was boiling and she knew it must be bright red. Her hair fell in her face as she glared at James. Beside her, Albus was shaking with silent laughter and Rose made a mental note to hex him in his sleep.

The room had gone oddly quiet and it was only when she looked up that Rose realized the rest of the family had been listening to her argument with James. Most of them looked amused; Uncle George was openly chuckling. Her mother smiled sympathetically.

"James, that's enough," Uncle Harry said, giving his son a sharp look. "Leave Rose alone."

James obeyed, giving Rose one last grin before sliding off the couch and sitting down with Hugo and Louis.

"And Rosie," Uncle Harry said, laughing over his glass of eggnog. "We all love you even if you are the family midget."

Everyone chuckled and Rose couldn't help the smile that crept on her face. She brushed her hair back and took a deep breath before leaning back on the sofa and taking the bag of marshmallows in her hands. She turned to Albus and held it out. "Here," she said. "Let's see how many times we can hit James without him catching us."

The next morning Rose was awoken by Lily poking her incessantly and yelling about presents.

"Leave me alone," Rose groaned, rolling over and attempting to hide under the covers.

"Rosie, wake up!" Lily demanded, taking the blanket and ripping it away, causing Rose to cry out in indignation. "It's Christmas and we're going to open presents _right now_! You can sleep later."

"I want to sleep now," Rose complained, even though she was already sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She caught sight of the pile of gifts waiting at the end of the bed and all thoughts of sleep flew from her mind as she got to her feet.

"Are you two ready?" Lucy asked from the other side of the room, where she was kneeling before her own pile.

"Ready," Rose and Lily answered in unison. And then the three girls tore through their gifts.

Rose cried with delight while opening her gifts. Among the many presents were a big book of ancient runes translations from Lucy, Maren and Allie, a bottle of perfume from Aunt Fleur and Uncle Bill, and a pretty necklace from Teddy and Victoire. Her parents had given her a large book called _A Tale of Two Cities_ , which Rose was pleased to notice was by the same man who wrote _A Christmas Carol_. She laid the book carefully next to her bed and vowed to start reading it that afternoon.

Christmas festivities lasted all throughout the day and by the time night came, everyone was more or less exhausted. While the rest of the family meandered up to bed, Rose settled in a big armchair in the living room and cracked open A Tale of Two Cities. She had gotten through the first few pages when she heard the stairs creaking and footsteps padding down the hall.

"Rose?" Albus asked when he appeared in the doorway a minute later, clutching a copy of The Daily Prophet.

"Hey, Al," she said, sticking her bookmark in the novel and moving over so he could sit beside her.

"Oof," Albus said as he squeezed in next to her. "It's getting harder for the two of us to fit in here."

"Maybe if you hadn't eaten so much pudding it'd be easier," Rose teased, poking him in the stomach.

"Hey, it was good!" Albus exclaimed.

"Good enough for three helpings?" Rose asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It was good enough for four, but Mum made me start cleaning dishes," Albus muttered.

Rose chuckled and looked down at the book in her lap. She absently played with the cover, flipping it open and then closing it carefully.

"Did you get that today?" Albus asked, pointing at the book.

Rose nodded and shifted so he could see the cover.

"A Tale of Two Cities," Albus read off, cocking his head to the side to see the words better. "What's it about?"

"I don't really know yet," Rose answered thoughtfully. "I've only just started. But my mum said it's a muggle classic and it's one of the most read books in the world."

"Then I'm sure you'll love it," Albus nodded, nudging her in the shoulder.

"What are you doing down here?" Rose asked, turning to face him. "I thought you were going up to bed."

"I was," he said, his face darkening. "But then I got this." He lifted up the newspaper.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Nathan sent it to me," Albus said, unfolding the paper and pointing to an article halfway down the front page. In big block letters the headline read: **Lucius Malfoy, ex-Death Eater and Voldemort Supporter, Dead at 63.** Underneath was a picture of a sallow, sickly, deranged looking man with a pointed chin and familiar, blond hair, sneering at the camera.

"Is that—"

"It's Scorpius's grandfather."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a moment. Rose shifted in the seat and cringed when the motion caused the paper to rustle. She bit her lip and looked sideways at Albus, who was staring at the picture with a crease in his forehead.

"Is—er—was Scorpius close with him? With his grandfather?"

"No," Albus said, looking up and meeting her gaze. "He said he hardly knows him."

"Oh, well that's—er—not too bad then." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth and wanted to kick herself when Albus swiftly glared at her.

"Not too bad?" he hissed.

"That's not what I meant!" Rose whispered, her eyes widening. "No—that—it's awful—I can't even think about if Grandma Molly or Grandpa Arthur died. It—I don't know what to say to this, Al. Why are you telling me about it?"

Albus looked at her for a moment and then sighed and slumped beside her. "I don't know," he said. "I thought you should know."

Rose swallowed and twisted a piece of hair around her finger. "Thanks," she murmured.

"You're welcome," Albus nodded.

They sat quietly again, both lost in thought. Rose chewed on her lip and studied the picture of Lucius Malfoy, thinking about how strange and awful life would be if that man were her grandfather.

"Al?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I don't hate Scorpius, right?"

"I know, Rosie."

"I think he's a git and a prat and he can be a real twat sometimes—"

"But—?"

"But I don't hate him."

"Well that's very good to know."

"And—" Rose hesitated for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. She glanced back at the newspaper and shook her head. "Well, I reckon his life's been quite a bit different than ours."

She kept her eyes down on her knees, but could feel Albus shift his weight to look at her and could hear the rustling of the Daily Prophet being moved. "Yeah," Albus said finally. "I'm glad you're figuring that out."


	12. Chapter 12

Rose returned to Hogwarts in January in good spirits. She was halfway through _A Tale of Two Cities_ , which was one of the most complicated and fascinating books she had ever read. When she told her mother this, her mother had beamed and said that was how you knew it was a good book. She also promised that when Rose finished, if she wrote home her parents would send her a new Charles Dickens book. At this Rose made a mental note to make time to read every night so as to finish the novel as quickly as possible.

When they arrived at the Ravenclaw common room, Lucy headed to Molly's dormitory to see if she had accidentally packed her favorite jumper in her sister's trunk. Rose climbed up the spiral staircase to the third year dorm and dropped into her warm, familiar bed. She scurried under the blue sheets and lay on her stomach, spread eagle, grinning as she realized she wouldn't be woken up in the middle of the night from Lily kicking in her sleep or stealing the covers. Too content and tired to even read, Rose snuggled into her pillow and fell asleep.

Classes resumed. Although the rest of the school seemed vaguely disgruntled to be back and buried in schoolwork, Rose's stomach buzzed as she skipped down the corridors. Over the holidays she had managed to complete the O.W.L. level runes translation Professor Scribner had given to her, and she couldn't wait to get to class and hand it in. Moreover, she had heard from Johanna Amal, a Hufflepuff in her year, that Professor Binns would be starting his lecture on the Great Wizarding Wars directly after Christmas holidays. The prospect of hearing about her family's escapades and heroics, even if it were in the form of Binns' mind-numbingly boring lecture, made Rose's toes curl. And so she bounced down the corridor on Monday morning, her red curls flying behind her.

"I don't know what your hurry is," Lucy muttered as she trotted after Rose, sweeping loose hair off her face. "Even if we're the first ones there, Binns won't start talking until everyone's in."

"Shush, Luce," Rose replied, almost walking right past the History of Magic classroom and skidding to a stop. "I just want to make sure we get good seats."

"Meaning you want the table in the back that's bigger than the rest so that when you fall asleep you'll have plenty of room," Maren grinned from behind Lucy.

"I'm not going to fall asleep!" Rose cried, tossing her hair over her shoulder and stalking into the classroom. "And I'm not sitting in the back. I want to be in the front row."

"You know he's not going to ask you to help lecture the class, right?" Maren asked as Rose weaved through the desks.

Rose scowled. "He might want a little input," she said loftily.

Maren chuckled and shook her head, holding her hands up in defeat and exchanging a look with Lucy.

Rose found a suitable seat in the front row, less than ten feet away from Professor Binns' chalkboard, and dropped into it, hurriedly taking out her parchment and quill.

"You're actually taking notes today?" Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow as she sat down next to Rose.

Rose shrugged with attempted nonchalance. "I don't want to miss anything."

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned to ask Maren something. Rose settled into her seat and allowed her eyes to wander the classroom as students trickled in. Most wore tired, bored expressions and lagged in the doorway to talk to friends. Finally, the two people Rose fiercely told herself she hadn't been waiting for walked through the door. Rose fought the urge to turn back around as she watched Allie and Scorpius glide into the room, looking like the pinnacle of romantic happiness. Allie was whispering something to Scorpius and blushing, her hand clasped firmly in his. Scorpius bent down slightly to be able to hear her and then smiled before gesturing towards two seats in the back of the room.

Rose bit her lip and picked at her thumbnail, though her eyes kept drifting back to Scorpius. She searched for a sign that he had suffered a loss over the holidays. A crease in his forehead, a loss of color in his face, disheveled hair or robes. To her chagrin she found nothing. Scorpius looked just as calm and put together as he always did.

Rose blew a piece of hair out of her eyes and turned back towards the chalkboard, making a show of arranging her parchment. From the back of the room she heard a soft giggle she recognized as Allie's. She wondered vaguely if Scorpius had told Allie about his grandfather, if he had told her the sordid details his family's history.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Professor Binns floating through the chalkboard and clearing his throat.

"Yes, yes, welcome back," he murmured, taking his place in front of the class and going right into his lecture.

The minutes flew by as Rose listened to Professor Binns describe Voldemort's first reign of terror: the murders, the muggle torture, Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix and a mysterious prophecy that nobody knew about at the time.

For the first time in nearly three years Rose caught every word of the lecture without dozing off, and with a quick glance around the room, she determined she wasn't the only one listening closely. Not one student was asleep. Even Professor Binns himself seemed more animated than usual, though Rose couldn't be certain.

"This prophecy," Binns continued, "did not mention any names specifically. But it did assert that a boy born at the end of July in 1980 to parents who had defied Voldemort three times would be the one to eventually conquer him. Two boys fit the description. One, as most of you know, was Harry Potter."

Rose straightened at the mention of her uncle. She glanced around the room and saw several of her classmates had turned to look at her and Lucy. The corner of Rose's mouth turned up and she bent her head lower over her parchment, pretending not to have noticed the attention.

"The other," Professor Binns continued, "was Neville Longbottom, or Professor Longbottom as you all know him."

Rose's head shot up and she raised her eyebrows. The smile slid off her face and her quill hung limply in her hand. She knew that Professor Longbottom had played an important role in the war but that he had almost been in Uncle Harry's place—

"Voldemort had to decide which child he thought to be the bigger threat and eventually chose to go after Potter. It is said that he did so because Potter was a half-blood like himself, whereas Longbottom was a pureblood."

Rose picked up her quill again and began scratching notes onto her parchment. A crease appeared between her eyebrows as she frowned. The only reason Uncle Harry had been chosen was because he was a half-blood? If things had been different, if Uncle Harry had been pureblood or if Voldemort had thought purebloods were more dangerous, Uncle Neville would have been marked instead.

It was all so—so arbitrary.

Rose felt her stomach turn over. She had always assumed Uncle Harry had some power or ability that had made him the war hero he was. No one had ever told her anything different. It made everything different somehow to know that the hardships her uncle had suffered had been caused by Voldemort's decision that a half-blood was a bigger threat than a pureblood. And everything could have very easily gone a different way.

Rose bit her lip and glanced towards Lucy who, for once, was not taking notes but staring open-mouthed at Binns. Rose understood. Growing up with the Weasleys, the girls had always been aware of their family's notoriety and of the fact their parents helped win the war against Voldemort. But never before had all the facts and details been laid out so plainly before them, and never before had they really grasped the fear and danger that permeated Voldemort's two ascents to power. Somehow, learning how much of her uncle's and parents' lives had been altered by chance and luck made everything much more frightening. Rose's eyes flickered toward her parchment for a moment before she threw her quill down and folded her hands on the desk, staring intently at Professor Binns.

"The Potters went into hiding in Godric's Hollow and were protected by the fidelius charm," the professor continued. "Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper, although most people within the Order of the Phoenix were led to believe that it was Sirius Black."

Rose bit down hard on the inside of her cheek as the image of a small, black and white photograph materialized in her mind. She remembered Uncle Harry pointing out Peter Pettigrew, the short watery-eyed boy, and Sirius Black, with his haughty grin, and how the two had stood so happily next to their friends.

"At the time it was known that there was a spy in the Order of the Phoenix, though nobody knew who it was. The tactic of spreading misinformation regarding the Potters' secret keeper was intended to prevent the spy from leaking the true identity of the secret keeper to Voldemort. However, the informant turned out to be none other than Peter Pettigrew himself."

Rose swallowed heavily and remembered her cousins' somber faces when Uncle Harry had pointed out Pettigrew in the photograph. The short, plump, smiling boy who stood with his friends and looked like he had never so much as killed a bug had been the one to turn them over to Voldemort.

"And that is how Voldemort was able to find the Potters. When they were betrayed, Harry Potter was a year old and both his parents were twenty one."

Rose's stomach flipped again as she thought of James and Lily Potter in that old photograph, both beaming, as Lily stood on her toes to kiss James on the cheek. They were seventeen in that picture, Rose remembered. And they had been only twenty one when they died.

 _Twenty one._

Rose stifled a gasp as the realization crashed over her. Uncle Harry's parents had been twenty one when they had been murdered. That was—that was— _horrible._ It was unthinkable. Rose's eyes widened as she realized she was thirteen—almost fourteen. That would be like her dying in eight years. Eight years!

Her chest tightened as she realized most of her cousins weren't much younger than twenty one. Vic was nineteen. And what about Teddy? He was twenty one—he was—in April he would be older than Uncle Harry's parents had been when they had died. Rose bit down on her lip and shook her head. She didn't even think of Teddy as old. He was still a kid like her. A big, tall kid with a job who came home and baked fairy cakes with Grandma Molly and played exploding snap for hours with Rose and Albus when they were bored. And Uncle Harry's parents had been Teddy's age when they died.

"Pettigrew betrayed his friends and on the evening of October 31st, 1981, Voldemort appeared in Godric's Hollow," Binns murmured, not looking up from his notes. "He walked into their cottage. And quickly murdered James Potter in the front hall. It's believed Potter had stayed near the door in an attempt to give his wife and son a chance to escape."

Rose's chest constricted as she forced herself to look down at her parchment. The classroom suddenly felt claustrophobic. Had these rooms always been so small? Had the air always been so thick and difficult to breathe? She tried to suck in a breath but the air was stopped by a lump in her throat.

"Voldemort then continued upstairs where Lily Potter had barricaded herself and her one-year-old son in the nursery—"

How could Professor Binns give this lecture with so little emotion? Rose's face heated up and she tried to frown but the lump in her throat made it impossible. She felt like she was going to vomit. Or cry. That was her family the man was talking about!

"After begging for mercy, asking Voldemort to kill her instead of Harry, Lily Potter was murdered, acting as a shield for her young son—"

The classroom spun around Rose as her mind was assaulted by the image of a young Lily Potter smiling widely and standing up to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek. The very same girl, only a few years later, had heard her husband die and then sacrificed her life to protect her child.

"And then Voldemort turned upon young Harry—"

Rose didn't remember jumping up from her seat. She didn't remember pushing her chair back and stumbling past her classmates. She didn't remember Binns asking where she was going or Lucy and Maren calling out after her in concern. She didn't remember Scorpius looking at her strangely. As Rose ran out of the classroom all she knew was that the lump in her throat was making it impossible to breathe and in a matter of seconds she was either going to burst into tears or vomit all over the floor.

The heavy door slammed behind her and Rose sank down in the middle of the corridor, gasping loudly as she tried to draw breath.

She finally understood. She understood why James had been so upset at seeing the photograph of his grandparents last Christmas at Teddy's flat. She understood why he, Al and Lily had gone so quiet when Uncle Harry pointed out Peter Pettigrew. She understood why Teddy said he almost hadn't wanted to put the picture on the wall.

The image of James and Lily—seventeen years old and happy—swam in Rose's head and she understood her cousins' pain. It was one thing to see that image and smile nostalgically. It was one thing to see a picture of James and Lily Potter when they were school children. It was another thing to realize that they died less than four years later—were murdered in their home when they were twenty one. Twenty one. Teddy's age.

It was one thing to know what happened to her cousins' grandparents, but another thing to have it explained in-depth, to listen to a minute-by-minute play of their final moments.

And to hear the details of their deaths be told in such a clinical, emotionless way—to hear Professor Binns explain exactly how James Potter—whom Rose remembered to look almost identical to Albus—had been murdered in his front hall without even a wand to protect himself—it was too much. The image of a taller, broader Albus falling to the ground with glassy eyes played over and over in Rose's mind. Tears ran freely down her face and she choked on air as she saw Albus's lifeless form in her mind. No—no—

"Miss Weasley?" a voice echoed down the corridor. Rose didn't answer, only burying her face in her hands to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks and muffle the ugly sobs racking her chest.

"Rose?" the voice asked again, much closer this time. Rose only shook her head and smashed the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to push the tears back in, trying to scrub the horrible images from her brain.

"Rose," Professor McGonagall said gently, kneeling on the ground and taking the girl by the wrists. "Look at me please."

Rose obeyed this time, slowly peeling her hands away from her puffy, tear-stained face. "Hi, Aunt Minnie," she choked out, looking at the floor.

"Why are you crying in the corridor?" McGonagall asked, looking around and furrowing her brow. "Class started nearly an hour ago."

"I was in history of magic," Rose warbled, sniffing loudly as a trail of mucus dribbled down her face. Her voice was thick from tears and snot and her chest still felt painfully constricted. "And Professor Binns was talking about—about the wizarding wars and I thought it would be fun but—hic—but—" she broke off as more tears began to roll down her face.

McGonagall didn't say anything for a moment. She let go of Rose's wrists and gathered the girl into her arms, patting her hair softly. "Let's go back to my office, shall we?" she asked quietly. "I have a tin of biscuits that needs eating."

Rose sniffed again and nodded slowly.

McGonagall helped her up and they walked silently towards the gargoyles guarding the spiral staircase. Rose stood quietly as McGonagall gave the password and they ascended up the stairs to the Headmistress's office.

"Let's take a seat," McGonagall said, guiding Rose towards an armchair in the corner. With a casual flick of her wand, the chair expanded so it was big enough for the two of them to sit comfortably. Rose sank down into the upholstery and took a deep breath. McGonagall returned with a tin of biscuits which she placed on a nearby table before she sat next to Rose and wrapped an arm protectively around her.

"You said you were in history of magic?" McGonagall asked, conjuring a handkerchief which she handed to Rose.

"Yes," Rose murmured, mopping the tears and mucus off her face as best she could. "We were—hic—learning about the wizarding wars and I thought—I thought they—they were going to be exciting like the stories my dad told me. Like people stealing dragons from Gringotts and—hic—using polyjuice potion and dueling—hic—death eaters."

"But it wasn't like that," McGonagall said quietly, letting out a heavy sigh.

"It was—hic— _horrible_ ," Rose cried. "And he was talking about Uncle Harry's mum and dad—"

"Lily and James," McGonagall whispered, turning away from Rose and staring out the window for a moment, her shoulders sagging.

Rose took a deep breath and looked up at the headmistress, who for the first time looked like a very old woman. Her face was drawn, making the lines stenciled into her skin more pronounced, and her eyes glazed over as she looked at something far away in the distance. Rose remembered suddenly that her Aunt Minnie had been a teacher at Hogwarts for a long time. The people Rose knew only from photographs Aunt Minnie had known as students. She had watched them grow up and fought alongside them in the Order of the Phoenix and mourned them for years.

"I suppose he told you all about their deaths?" the headmistress asked abruptly, still not looking at Rose.

"He did," Rose nodded. "He—he told us in detail."

McGonagall shook her head slowly and gave Rose a small, sad smile. "It's been nearly forty years since they died," she said. "But I'll never forget that night—hearing the news—seeing your uncle—just a wee little baby—with a scar on his forehead getting dropped off on the doorstep of his muggle relatives—and realizing that Lily and James, those two smart, brave, wonderful people were gone forever—I can't—" she shuddered and looked away.

"I know they aren't my grandparents," Rose whispered, looking down at her hands. "And no one in the family has even met them except for maybe Grandma and Grandpa. But it all—they're so important to all of us. And last year Teddy showed us a picture of them when they were at school and Albus and James and Lily were all so sad about it. And I just—"

"You still consider them your family," McGonagall said, tightening her arm around Rose's shoulder. "As you should."

Rose stayed in the headmistress's office for the remainder of the afternoon. They ate biscuits and talked about the wars, about Lily and James Potter, about how the family's legacy was something to be proud of. Aunt Minnie told Rose about how Lily Evans was smart and funny and Rose would have loved her. She told her about how James Potter and his friends called themselves the Marauders and were some of the biggest pranksters she ever met even though she loved them dearly. She told Rose about how the Potters and Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were all brave and kind and noble, how James Potter and Sirius Black were a bit like Rose's dad and Uncle Harry. She told Rose all the ways she saw James and Lily in their grandchildren, and all the ways James, Albus and Lily surprised her every year.

When Rose finally stood up and said goodbye, her chest feeling significantly lighter and her face finally free of tears, it was nearly time for dinner and the sun hung low in the sky over the grounds.

"Try going to history of magic again on Wednesday," the headmistress said gently as she walked Rose down to the corridor. "If it's too much, you have my permission to leave."

"Okay," Rose nodded, her face flushing.

"And, Rosie? Write your parents about today. They would want to know."

"Alright," Rose mumbled, biting her lip and looking at the floor.

McGonagall smiled and patted Rose's cheek. "You'd best get to Ravenclaw tower so Lucy can tell you what you missed in class. And I'm going to run down to the kitchens before dinner to see if I can't get the house elves to send up some treacle tart for you."

Rose giggled thought happily that treacle tart would be wonderful on a night like this. "Thanks, Aunt Minnie," she called as she began making her way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

"It's not a problem, dear."

Rose walked into the Ravenclaw common room and was immediately swarmed by a gaggle of people.

"Rosie! Are you alright?"

"What happened, we were so worried, you just ran out of class looking like you were going to be ill!"

"We couldn't find you anywhere—"

"—thought something terrible had happened—"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Rose muttered, glancing around at her cousins and friends, who were all watching her nervously. "Really. I just—the lesson just upset me. That's all."

"You looked awful," Lucy said solemnly. "And it was so sudden too—you just jumped up and ran out of the room."

"And then when we got out of class you weren't anywhere," Maren added. "You missed charms and herbology."

"We looked everywhere for you," Molly said. "We checked the dormitory, the common room, the library, the kitchens."

"We even got Fred to help us try and track you down," Dom smiled, pulling Rose over to one of the squashy sofas and gently sitting her down. "What happened? Lucy was all worked up and said you'd run out of history of magic and then disappeared."

"It was the lesson, wasn't it?" Lucy asked quickly, dropping down into the seat beside Rose and turning towards her. "It was an awful thing to hear—just terrible—and with Binns just going on about it—"

"What was the lesson?" Dom asked slowly, her face softening as she draped an arm around Rose's shoulders. "It was one of the war lectures, right? I thought you were looking forward to that?"

"I was," Rose mumbled, sinking into the couch cushions. "But Binns was talking about Uncle Harry's parents and how they died and—Dom, they were only twenty one! They were Teddy's age! And he was saying how Voldemort murdered them and how Uncle Harry's dad didn't even have a wand and—"

"Oh, Rosie," Dom whispered, pulling her in for a hug and squeezing her. "I know, it's terrible, isn't it?"

"They were Teddy's age," Rose said into her cousin's shoulder. "And I just kept seeing that picture of them Teddy has on the wall and how young they were—and I kept picturing Al being the one who was killed—"

"Rosie, nobody in our family is going to get killed," Dom said, running a hand through Rose's hair and rocking back and forth.

"I know," Rose murmured. "It was just horrible to hear. And Binns said it all so—so—"

"Like he didn't care at all?" Molly suggested, leaning over the back of the sofa to pat Rose on the back. "He has a habit of doing that."

"And now I feel so silly for running out when they aren't even _my_ grandparents," Rose said, shaking her head. "Everyone must think I'm ridiculous."

"They didn't think so at all," Lucy said gently. "After you left everyone was so—stunned. Allie told me after class that usually in history of magic she just thinks of it as a story—like a fairy tale that's meant to entertain us. And today was the first time she realized it's not like that at all, that they're all real events that are important to people. And everyone was worried about you. Even Nathan and Scorpius helped us try to find you."

"Where did you go, by the way?" Dom asked, raising an eyebrow. "You must have had a bloody fantastic hiding spot to stay hidden from all of us."

"Aunt Minnie found me in the hallway and took me back to her office," Rose said. "That's where I came from just now."

"What did she say?" Dom asked.

"She—she told me about Uncle Harry's parents," Rose said slowly, biting her lip as she remembered the distant, glazed look on the headmistress's face. "She was a teacher here when they were in school. We talked about them, and about Uncle Harry and my parents, and about Albus and James and Lily and the wars. She gave me biscuits."

"Blimey," Maren murmured, her eyebrows rising. "She's been here a bloody long time."

"I can't believe she lived through two wizarding wars," Lucy shook her head, pulling at the end of her ponytail. "Imagine how many people she's lost—"

"Don't think like that," Molly chided gently, pulling Lucy's hand away from her hair and giving her a smile. "Think about how brave she must have been to go out and fight twice—and still be here now!"

They all sat quietly for a moment and thought about the headmistress, her bravery and her grief.

The clock in the corner of the common room rang out and Rose jumped slightly, knocking the top of her head on Dom's chin. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly, climbing off the couch.

"No worries," Dom said, rubbing her chin and looking at her watch. "It's time for dinner, though. What do you say we all go and eat together tonight?"

"Maybe we can ask Fred and James to join us," Molly suggested.

"And Hugo and Louis," Lucy added. "They can bring Simon if they like."

"Well then we should also ask Roxanne and Lily and Albus," Dom nodded. "We can't leave them out."

"So the whole family's eating together?" Rose laughed as she stood up, pushing her hair off her face.

"Why not?" Dom shrugged. "And your friends can all sit with us. It'll be like a proper family dinner at the Burrow."

"Will we all fit?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow as she tried to count how many people would be in the group.

"Mols or I can lengthen the table if we need to," Dom said with a wink. "Just don't tell Aunt Minnie."

Rose giggled and skipped down to dinner with her cousins. The others all joined them at the Ravenclaw table and it was a merry meal, with Rose squashed between Nathan and Albus. Everyone talked and joked and nobody mentioned her departure from history of magic earlier (Rose suspected Dom forbade them all from mentioning it). Fred invited Rose to go flying with him the next afternoon, James charmed the pitcher of pumpkin juice to sing a Celestina Warbeck song, and Scorpius and Allie refrained from holding hands and whispering throughout the entire meal.

Best of all, the treacle tart that appeared in front of Rose during dessert was excellent.

January passed by quickly. Binns' next three lectures on the wizarding wars contained mostly the thrilling tales Rose had been expecting, and she took great pride in her ability to repeat the stories to her enthralled classmates. She finished _A Tale of Two Cities_ and wrote a glowing letter home to her mother, announcing she couldn't think of a better ending for such a story and that Madame DeFarge was delightfully evil. Her mother wrote back immediately and sent a copy of _Oliver Twist_ , which Rose tore through.

To everyone's delight, notices went up in the common rooms that the next Hogsmeade visit had been scheduled for the Saturday before Valentine's Day. Though the prospect of wading through a sea of lovesick couples in the Three Broomsticks made Rose cringe, she couldn't help but be excited to return to the village. She, Lucy and Maren spent several evenings in the library planning out their day so as to avoid most of the snogging couples.

"I think we should just steer clear of Honeydukes altogether," Lucy said, furrowing her brow as she pored over a map of the village. "Since there will be so many people trying to buy holiday chocolate."

"Same with the Three Broomsticks," Maren said, sucking on the end of her quill. "Maybe we could try the Hog's Head for a butterbeer? I know it's not where we usually go—"

"My dad told me never to go in there unless it's an emergency," Lucy said quickly, biting her lip.

"But we can't go to Hogsmeade and not get a butterbeer—"

"Why don't we ask Uncle George to buy three butterbeers the day before and keep them at the shop for us?" Rose suggested.

"Good idea," Lucy nodded. "And we can stay there for a while, I doubt many couples would want to spend their day at a joke shop."

"And we can go to Scrivenshaft's after," Rose added. "I saw Johanna Amal has one of those eagle feather quills and I want one."

"Alright. And can we go to Gladrags? They have these new sequined robes I saw in _Teen Witch Weekly_ —"

"You're going to spend your Hogsmeade trip buying new robes?" the voice of Albus Potter interrupted them. Rose looked up to see her cousin meandering towards them.

"We're trying to think of things to do that don't involve being surrounded by couples," Maren scowled defensively.

Albus wrinkled his nose and dropped into the seat beside Lucy. "I'm glad I won't have to deal with that."

"Why aren't you going?" Rose asked, her eyes flying up to her cousin's face. "Or do you have a date?" she gasped, her eyebrows shooting up. "Oh, Merlin, Albus you have a date! Why didn't you tell me—"

"I don't have a date," Albus snorted, running a hand through his hair and raising an eyebrow at Rose. "Me James and Lily are going to spend the day with Hagrid. We haven't seen him in ages."

"Don't you want to go to Hogsmeade, though?" Maren asked.

Albus shrugged. "Like you said, it'll be overrun by couples. And anyways, Lily was already upset about not being able to go and we really haven't gone to visit Hagrid for a long time—not since before Christmas holidays. It's a bit disappointing I won't get to see Teddy—"

"Teddy's going to be there?" Rose asked, her face brightening.

"He owled James last week saying he'll be in Hogsmeade that day," Albus nodded. "Said not to tell many people, though, since it's for something secret."

"Ooh, what is it?" Rose whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Albus looked at her like she had just asked what a flobberworm was. "I don't know," he said slowly, as though talking to a toddler. "It's a secret."

"Lucy, we should meet up with Teddy!" Rose cried, turning towards her cousin. "We can have him meet us at Uncle George's."

"Would he want to?" Lucy asked, looking between Rose and Albus. "I mean, he owled James not us—"

"It doesn't matter," Rose waved her hand airily. "It's Teddy. And we haven't seen him since Christmas."

"Alright, go owl him and ask," Lucy said, turning back to the map in front of her. "And ask him to buy some Honeydukes chocolate for us."

Teddy responded to Rose's owl saying he would love to meet up with them in Hogsmeade and agreed to spend some time with the girls at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

The three girls walked into the shop and let out a collective sigh of relief. The amount of couples milling about the village was staggering; Rose wasn't even sure all those people went to Hogwarts. Just as they had expected, the joke shop was nearly empty, with only a few gaggles of third year boys running around.

"Hello, Rosie, Lucy, Maren," Uncle George greeted them, ruffling Rose and Lucy's hair and giving Maren a smile. "How are my favorite Ravenclaws?"

"Cold," Rose answered, taking off her gloves.

"I have something to warm you up, then," Uncle George grinned. He reached behind the front counter and brought out three bottles of butterbeer, which he handed to the girls. "Enjoy."

Murmuring their thanks, the girls snatched the bottles and all took a hearty drink. The liquid coursed through Rose and she felt her fingers and toes get the tingly feeling that meant they were warming up.

A rush of cold air announced the another arrival and Rose turned and beamed when she saw Teddy Lupin walking towards her, his blue hair poking through a Hufflepuff hat and the lower half of his face hidden under a thick purple scarf.

Not bothering to wait for Teddy to take off his scarf or hat or mittens, Rose ran forward and hugged him, slopping a bit of butterbeer onto his cloak.

"Hey there, Rosie," Teddy chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. "How're you?"

"Good," Rose murmured, pulling away to smile at him. "We're so excited to see you, though!" she gestured to Lucy and Maren who were shaking their heads good naturedly at her. "How's the ministry? How's Vic? Have you gotten any new books lately? Did my dad tell you that in our match against Hufflepuff I saved twenty six goals? Because I did and one was really difficult and I thought I might fall off my broom—"

"Woah, woah, woah," Teddy laughed, loosening his scarf and stepping further into the shop. "Slow down a bit."

He dropped his mittens, hat and scarf behind the counter, said hello to Uncle George, and managed to procure himself a bottle of butterbeer before finally to the back of the shop with the girls. They sat on the ground, hoping nobody would come back this way, and sipped their butterbeer.

"Why were you in the village today?" Rose asked. "Al said it's a secret."

Teddy laughed and raised his eyebrows. "It is a secret," he replied. "You'll know soon enough, don't worry."

"It's not something dangerous, is it?" Lucy asked, watching Teddy warily over her butterbeer.

"No, it's not dangerous." Teddy smiled and tugged her ponytail. "It's just not something I want the whole family to know just yet."

Lucy nodded and took another sip of her drink.

"So, girls, how's school going?" Teddy asked. "Do you like your classes? Rose, your dad was telling me that you're some kind of ancient runes genius."

Rose flushed and grinned. "I don't know about genius," she said. "But I do love it. It's my favorite class. Professor Scribner has given me some O.W.L. level translations to do!"

"Wow," Teddy said, raising his bottle towards her. "Look at you. I always knew you were going to be the smartest cousin."

Rose's flush deepened and she looked down at her hands.

"How about you, Luce?" Teddy said, turning to Lucy. "You're taking muggle studies, I hear?"

"Yes, that and care of magical creatures," Lucy answered. She wrinkled her nose before continuing, "I'm not sure how much I like care of magical creatures, but I like muggle studies. It's interesting and not too hard. Scorpius and I are usually able to get all the work done in class—"

"Scorpius is in muggle studies?" Rose interrupted, her eyebrows flying up.

"Yes," Lucy said crisply, giving Rose a rather hard stare. "He's mentioned it quite a few times."

"Oh," Rose bit the inside of her cheek. "I must not have noticed."

"He's quite interested in it," Lucy went on, turning back to Teddy. "He likes learning about the culture, though, the art and the music and the literature and all that. I just like learning about the machines they have. Did you know there's a thing called a microwave that has some sort of heating charm in a box and can heat food?"

"I didn't," Teddy replied. "You should ask Grandpa Arthur about it, I'm sure he could get one for you."

"If I get something I want it to be a mobile telephone," Lucy said. "Professor MacMillan told us about them and they're so complex."

They continued talking about school and classes for over an hour, with Teddy asking questions and telling the girls which classes he had loathed in school. "I love Neville but herbology was the worst subject in the world," he muttered with a shake of his head. "Difficult and useless. I was dreadful at it. Barely scraped an A on my O.W.L. and dropped the class immediately after."

"Teddy!" Lucy cried, staring at him incredulously. "It's a rather important subject!"

"Not when you work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation," Teddy snorted. "No one cares about plants there. Unless they're banned, of course, or important in trade relations."

"What was your favorite subject, then?" Rose asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"I always liked defense against the dark arts," Teddy said solemnly, giving Rose a small, sad smile and swirling the remnants of his butterbeer around. "It was interesting and—" he paused and took a deep breath. "I always felt very close to my parents in that class," he finally said, his eyes flickering towards the three girls.

Rose swallowed and kept her eyes trained on Teddy. His hair darkened from electric blue to a soft brown as he sat, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Because they probably used the same spells a lot?" Lucy asked.

"Sort of," Teddy answered, nodding absently. "My mum was an auror, you know. So all of the defensive spells were probably very important to her. And my dad—he taught defense for a year, did you know that?"

"No," Rose and Lucy both shook their heads. Beside them, Maren's eyes were wide as she stared at Teddy.

"He did," Teddy smiled, his eyes glazing over slightly as he stared at the wall behind Lucy's head. "Dumbledore gave him the job. And from what I've heard, he was a good teacher. Though my sources may be a bit biased."

"I'm sure he was wonderful," Lucy whispered, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Everyone says he was a very good man."

"Yeah, that's what I've heard too," Teddy replied. He ran a hand through his hair and continued staring at the wall. "But he only got to teach for a year. Someone outed him as a werewolf and he was forced to leave."

"Oh," Lucy faltered, looking at the ground. "That's—"

"Awful," Rose finished for her. She glanced at Teddy who was still deep in thought. "Er, Teddy?" she asked, poking him in the shoulder.

He jumped slightly but turned and smiled at Rose. "Yeah?" he asked.

Rose bit her lip before blurting out, "If you liked defense so much why didn't you try to be an auror—or—I don't know—do something less—"

"Something less boring than the Department of International Magical Cooperation?" Teddy suggested, raising his eyebrows.

Rose flushed and nodded, a bit embarrassed for having been so transparent.

Teddy didn't appear offended, however. He squeezed Rose's arm and sat back. His hair grew a bit as he sat in silence until it curled softly around his ears. His eyes went from a muddy brown to grey and his face became heart shaped. Rose watched the changes occur in awe, wondering whether Teddy was consciously changing his appearance or if it just happened without his noticing.

"I didn't want to disappoint them," Teddy said finally, making Rose jump. "I didn't want to try and follow in their footsteps and fail. It's a bit pathetic, I know, but—"

"It's not pathetic," Lucy interjected. "It makes perfect sense."

"Yeah, well," Teddy muttered, pulling his hand through his now shaggy brown hair and frowning. "I liked the class because it made me feel close to them but I was always a bit worried that if I tried to live my life according to how they lived theirs—if I tried to be an auror like my mum or teach like my dad—I would've done a rotten job and everyone would have been disappointed. And it was the right move. I think everyone agrees I would've been a terrible auror. I like learning all those dueling techniques but the idea of actually trying to curse another person," he shuddered, "I don't think I could do it."

"But what about teaching?" Rose insisted, moving closer to Teddy. "Or something else with law enforcement—you don't have to be an auror to do something with defense—but think of how much closer you could feel to your parents if you did something—"

"Rosie," Teddy murmured, putting a hand gently on her shoulder. "Everyone always tells me how brave my parents were, how good they were, how they died so that I could live in a better world. And I'm very proud of them for that. I'm proud to have them as my parents. But," he took his hand back and took a shaky breath, "I don't want to follow in their footsteps that way. I hope to be brave and good and noble like them, but I don't want to live my life like there's still a war going on. I don't want to be surrounded by dueling. I don't want to live my life chasing after dark magic and trying to stamp it out. I want to live a nice, quiet life. I want to live like there's no war."

"But if there were a war—"

"But there isn't," Teddy said firmly. "Rosie, I know you look up to your dad and Uncle Harry and think they're wonderful for being aurors. I do too. And I know you think that going out and fighting in battle is the best way to show that you're following in their footsteps. But, I need you to remember, your parents went into battle and lived. Mine didn't. Going out and fighting dark wizards—it's not all glory and heroics. Someone has to lose a duel and it's not always the bad guy who does."

Rose didn't say anything. She swallowed heavily and dropped her gaze to the empty butterbeer bottle in her hand. Her face burned with guilt as Teddy's words seeped through her mind. She felt so silly for thinking Teddy looked at the war the same way she did. Of course it was different for him, the same way it was different for Uncle Harry. The war had given Rose a sense of pride and fame. It had taken Teddy's family.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the stone floor, not looking up at Teddy.

"Don't be sorry," Teddy said, putting an arm around her and hugging her to his side. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just want you to understand."

"I do understand," Rose nodded, feeling tears well up behind her eyes. "The war means something different to everyone, doesn't it?"

"It does," Teddy murmured, patting her hair. "You just have to be mindful of that."

The girls said goodbye to Teddy soon after and, after making stops at Scrivenshaft's and Gladrags, trudged back to the castle.

"I wish we got to see Teddy more," Lucy murmured as they approached the front doors. "He's always so nice to be around."

"Yeah," Rose replied, still a bit upset with herself over her conversation with Teddy. "He's one of the best people in the family, I reckon."

"I can't imagine growing up knowing my parents died in the war," Maren sighed, rustling her shopping bags as she reached out to open the castle door. "I just—he's so brave."

"He really is, isn't he?" Lucy said.

"Your whole family is, honestly," Maren answered.

"You'll have to come to the Burrow sometime," Rose said with a small smile. "You can hear all the stories. And my dad already loves you because of quidditch."

"Maybe next year?" Maren asked, waggling her eyebrows. "Or this summer if we're lucky."

"Oh, that would be lovely!" Lucy cried. "We could see if we could invite everyone. Allie could come too and Al could invite Nathan and Scorpius—"

"Do we have to invite the boys?" Rose groaned. "I want to just enjoy time with my friends, Luce—"

"They _are_ your friends, Rosie—"

"Not Scorpius!"

"Oh, give it a rest."

"Anyways," Maren broke in as the girls began climbing the stairs to the seventh floor. "I would love to come, whenever you invite me. After spending so much time with you two I have to see if the entire Weasley clan is barmy as well."

" _Hey!_ "

"Maybe I can write an article on my findings and sell it to _Witch Weekly_ ," Maren continued with an evil smirk. "I have a title already, _War Heroes or Wack? An Inside Look at the Famous Weasley Family_."

Rose snorted. "Then I'll just tell everyone you had a crush on Matthew Corner in first year."

They reached the eagle door knocker amid Maren's indignant yelps and Rose couldn't help but laugh as she walked into the common room. Talking about the war and her family's heroics was all well and good, but she couldn't help thinking Teddy had a point; it was rather nice to live in a world with no war where you could just laugh with your friends and make summer plans. She was beginning to see the advantages of his boring, lovely, life.

Winter days slipped by and before anyone knew it, Easter holidays were approaching. Rose was looking forward to the holiday more than usual this year. It would be the first time her immediate family would be spending time together at home since she and Hugo had left for school in September.

The night before holidays Rose rushed through her homework and threw her clothes in her trunk, along with a half dozen books and a list of books she planned on persuading her parents to buy for her. She fell asleep quickly that night, her mouth curled into a soft smile as she dreamed of her mother's crowded bookshelves and her father's overlarge quidditch jumpers and the worn, comfortable armchair near the fireplace she liked to sit in and read. She couldn't wait to be home.

Her father had barely parked the car in the driveway before Rose was out and bounding towards the front door. She threw it open with bravado and breathed in deeply, letting the familiar scent of the house envelope her.

"Hello, darlings!" her mother called from the kitchen, the heels of her shoes clicking against the tile floor as she hurried to greet them.

"Hi, Mum," Rose said as her mother bent down to hug her.

"You didn't have any problems on the way home, did you?" Hermione Weasley asked nervously, glancing over Rose's head to look out the window at the driveway. "You know your dad can get a bit overexcited when he's driving sometimes—"

"Everything was fine," Rose reassured her mother, stepping further into the kitchen and looking around. "I'm glad to be home."

"Oh, I'm glad to have you home, dear," Hermione said, patting her daughter on the shoulder and smiling. "It's so lonely here without to two of you. Sometimes I take one of your storybooks and read it out loud to myself and pretend you or Hugo is with me."

Rose raised and eyebrow and crinkled her nose. "Mum, that's strange," she said.

"Don't be so high and mighty, Rosie. I'm trying to be sentimental."

The door opened again and Rose was spared having to answer as Hugo came running into the kitchen, nearly knocking his mother over as he launched himself at her.

"Mummy, I missed you!" he exclaimed.

Hermione wrapped her arms tightly around her son. "I missed you too, Hugh," she said. "Oh, I'm so happy to have you two home. Even if Rosie is already being a bit of a pain in my bum."

"Hey!" Rose cried indignantly, crossing her arms and scowling. "I just said it's strange that you read out loud to yourself—"

"Girls, can we please wait at least until tomorrow before starting an argument?" Ron asked as he entered the kitchen, placing two shrunken trunks on the table. "I'd rather not have to eat dinner in separate rooms the first night we're all together."

"Ronald, please," Rose's mum sighed in exasperation, finally letting go of Hugo and rolling her eyes. "We weren't arguing."

"Good," Ron said, bending down and pulling Rose to his side. "I hate it when my favorite girls fight."

Hermione rolled her eyes again but smiled, reaching for her wand and opening a cupboard. "What do you lot want for dinner? I thought I'd wait and ask. I can make something if you'd like; Grandma Molly gave me a recipe for French onion soup. Or Grandpa Granger told me about a lovely little Italian restaurant in muggle London that's just opened. We could apparate over there."

"I want to eat here," Hugo answered quickly, sliding into a chair at the table.

"Me too," Rose nodded, leaning closer to her dad and smiling. "We can go to London later."

The French onion soup was excellent. Not quite as good as Grandma Molly's, Rose thought privately, but still excellent. Her mother also served pasta and bread and the family stayed at the table for well over two hours. It was always a bit strange eating at home with only her immediate family, Rose thought. Between Hogwarts and the Burrow, she was so used to eating with large groups of people and fighting to get a word in edgewise that to have only three people with her, all waiting to hear what she had to say was a bit off-putting. Not that she was complaining, though.

Rose told her parents about quidditch and her friends and classes. Her mother questioned her rather aggressively about the rest of her history of magic lessons, having been concerned after receiving Rose's letter regarding the war lectures.

"It was alright after that," Rose assured her parents, turning a bit pink at the memory of her meltdown. "Really, the rest of them were fine. And the one you heard about wasn't a bad lecture it was just a bit of a shock, that's all."

"I'm so sorry, dear," Hermione shook her head, frowning at her plate. "We really ought to have told you more about it—I didn't even think—"

"Mum, it's okay," Rose muttered, wishing to drop the topic. "There was never a reason for you to tell me about the Potters—"

"You shouldn't have had to learn about it in class like that," Hermione said firmly, looking at her husband who nodded.

"We are very sorry about it, Rosie," Ron said, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder. "I know you said it's alright, but your mum and I felt awful after getting that letter."

"Don't worry about it," Rose said, a bit louder this time. "Aunt Minnie sorted it all out. And everything else we learned after that I knew—sort of. It's fine."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "Because if not—"

"Mum, I said it's fine," Rose bit out, her patience wearing thin.

"There's no need to snap at me, Rose Minerva, I just want to make sure you're really alright," Hermione said, straightening in her chair.

Rose rolled her eyes but didn't say anything more. She was grateful when Hugo changed the subject by announcing, "I think I want to try out for the quidditch team next year."

"Ree-ry?" Ron asked, his head flying up and his mouth freezing mid chew. "Wha' pos-it-shin?"

"Ron, honestly," Hermione scolded, giving him a pointed glare. "Could you try to set a better example for table etiquette?"

Rose watched her dad hurriedly swallow and mumble a quick "sorry," before turning to Hugo with bright eyes.

"Er, well, one of the beaters this year is dung," Hugo mumbled, his ears going red as he speared a piece of pasta. "I think I could do better."

"I'm sure you could," Ron cried, clapping Hugo on the back. "We'll practice with you this summer, mate. I'm sure Fred would work with you a bit too to make sure you're in top form. Oh, Merlin's bum, Hermione, isn't this great! Both our kids, playing for their house teams!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Hermione said levelly, though she did ruffle Hugo's hair and smile affectionately. "Though that's wonderful, dear, and I'm sure you'll play brilliantly at tryouts."

"Thanks," Hugo said quietly, his grin barely concealed. "Would you come to my matches too? Like how you go to Rosie's?"

"Absolutely," Hermione answered. "And your father would probably go out and buy loads of Hufflepuff apparel as well."

"Well I can't go to a Hufflepuff match wearing Ravenclaw or Gryffindor colors," Ron said, his eyes going wide. "Oh, Circe! What about when Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff play each other, Hermione, what will we do?"

"Ask Ginny and Harry," Hermione said, watching her husband with amusement. "They have the same problem when Gryffindor and Slytherin play each other, don't they?"

"Right, right," Ron nodded quickly, beaming around the table at his wife and children. "Oh this is wonderful. Hermione, we should just go to every school match from now on."

Hermione shook her head and stood up from the table, grabbing her wand and levitating dishes to the sink. "As long as you don't try quizzing me on the different maneuvers again, I'll go whenever you want," she called.

They spent the rest of the evening in the family room. Hugo showed their mother a biography of Helga Hufflepuff he had found in the library while Rose played their father in chess. After losing four times in a row she crossed her arms and announced, "I'm rusty."

"Mhm, sure," her dad laughed.

"I am!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Nobody at school plays chess with me! Lucy and Dom are rubbish and nobody else knows how to play!"

"Why don't you teach them?" her mother asked from the sofa, raising an eyebrow. "Your dad's the one who taught me and Uncle Harry how to play."

Rose furrowed her brow and frowned. "I don't think that would go well," she said at last.

Both her parents burst into laughter at this and her dad shook his head as he began packing up the wizard chess set. "Probably not," he agreed. "So I suppose wizard chess will just be for the holidays. But I promise I'll go easy on you from now on."

"I don't want you to go easy on me," Rose said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm going to beat you before I go back to school."

"Of course you will," Ron said, ruffling her hair and grinning. "You two should probably go up to bed now, though. It's nearly eleven."

"Oh Merlin, is it really?" Hermione cried, staring at the clock in surprise. "I had no idea! Yes, yes, upstairs, both of you."

Rose skipped up the steps to her bedroom, which was just as she had left it. She put on pajamas and crawled into bed, burrowing into the sheets that weren't quite as soft as the ones at school, but just as warm and welcoming. She drifted off to sleep quickly, reflecting on the fact that her family drove her insane, but she did love being home.

It was still dark out when Rose suddenly jerked awake. She rolled over and peered at the clock on her nightstand, which read 2:43.

Rose sighed and buried her face in the pillow, closing her eyes again when she heard a strangled scream coming from down the hall. She sat up quickly, her head snapping towards her closed door. What in Merlin's name—

The scream came again. This time Rose easily identified it as her father's.

"No!" Ron's voice shrieked, echoing down the hall and filling Rose with dread. "No! Hermione! _Hermione!_ No, let her go! _HERMIONE!_ "

Something white hot clutched Rose's chest and she jumped out of bed, throwing open her door. Hugo was already in the hallway, his brown eyes wide and his mouth trembling.

"Rosie?" he whispered shakily, reaching out for her. "Rosie? What's happening? Is Dad okay?"

Rose didn't answer, but took her brother's hand and hurried down the hall to her parents' room. The screams got louder and every time she heard her father half-sob her mother's name, the pain in Rose's chest intensified.

" _HERMIONE!_ " Ron cried, "No, no, take me! Leave her, take me!"

Rose reached out to open the door but stopped when she heard the unmistakable sound of her mother's voice, calmly whispering in between her father's shouts, "Shh…Ron…Ron, wake up…shh…it's over, Ron…it's not happening…it's over…I'm right here…I'm not leaving."

Rose turned the handle and slowly opened the door. Inside, she saw her father, eyes screwed shut, twisted in his sheets and flailing as her mother bent over him and was gently shaking him and whispering.

At the creak of the door, Hermione's head snapped up and her eyes grew wide when she caught sight of her frightened children standing in the doorway.

" _HERMIONE!_ " Ron screamed again, nearly falling out of bed as he twisted violently.

Rose stepped back instinctively, pulling Hugo behind her. His hand tightened on hers and Rose thought she might have lost circulation in a few fingers, though she returned the squeeze just as tightly.

Still in bed, Hermione seized her wand from her nightstand and whispered "lumos," before shining it in front of Ron and shaking him rather roughly.

Ron's eyes flew open and he inhaled sharply. He turned to his wife, who nodded towards the doorway. He then moved his head slowly around until he saw Rose and Hugo, both white-faced and shaking, clutching each other's hands.

"I must have forgotten the silencing charm," Hermione whispered. "I haven't had to do it since Hugo left."

Ron simply nodded, slumping back on his pillows and closing his eyes. "I guess they were going to know sooner or later."

Rose stood still as a statue in the doorway, watching her parents. Neither looked particularly disturbed. They simply looked…tired. After a moment, Ron held out his hand and beckoned Rose and Hugo towards him.

The two walked into the room and Rose closed the door, her hand still clutching Hugo's. By the light of her mother's wand Rose climbed into her parents' bed and sat between her parents, with Hugo on the other side of their mother.

"Are you alright, Dad?" she asked quietly, peering down at his pale face.

"I'm alright, Rosie," Ron said, pulling her down so she lay between him and Hermione. "Sometimes I get nightmares is all."

"Are they—is it because of the war?" Rose whispered, peering at him through her hair.

Ron took a deep breath and rolled over so he lay on his stomach, his cheek resting on the pillow so he faced her. "Yes, it's from the war," he said. "Some things are—are very hard to forget. And they come back when I go to sleep."

"Why were you saying Mum's name?" Rose asked, choking slightly on a lump in her throat she hadn't noticed until now. "Why were you asking for her?"

On her other side, Rose felt her mother sigh and sit up.

"Some bad things happened to me during the war," Hermione murmured, running a hand through her daughter's hair. "And your dad was right there, and it was all very scary. But we'll talk about this all in the morning, sweetheart. There are some things your father and I need to tell you two. Let's just get some sleep."

Rose nodded and snuggled into the pillow. Beside her, Ron did the same and threw an arm out, wrapping it around his daughter and wife. Hermione put an arm around Hugo. The four of them stayed like that, crammed into the bed, holding on to each other.

Within minutes Rose felt her mother's breathing even out and knew she had fallen asleep. She could hear Hugo's soft snores as well. But sleep didn't come to Rose for a long time, and from his heavy, erratic breathing, she knew her dad was still awake as well. Rose didn't ask any more questions as she lay there, curled up between her parents, but her mind and chest were heavy. Never in her life had she imagined her father could say her mother's name in a way that entailed so much pain, so much agony. She had never imagined either of her parents feeling broken enough to scream like that. And yet tonight proved that at one point, they had. The war had left more scars than Rose thought.


	13. Chapter 13

Somehow, saying goodbye to her parents at the end of Easter holidays was even harder than saying goodbye at the beginning of term had been for Rose. Even though she and Hugo had only been home for a week, and even though there was barely two months left until summer, Rose couldn't help her eyes welling up as she stood beside the fireplace and hugged her mother goodbye.

"If anything happens at school let us know right away," Hermione whispered into Rose's hair as she squeezed her. "And look after Hugo. And even if nothing happens, still write us often."

"I will, Mum," Rose answered, leaning into her mother's chest and biting her lip. They finally broke apart and Rose looked up into her mother's brown eyes, which were creased with worry. "And nothing else will happen. Really—neither of us will be, er—surprised—by anything now—since you and Dad told us everything."

"I know, I know," Hermione sighed, a line appearing between her eyebrows. "I just—I don't know." She wrapped her arms around Rose again and gave her a quick squeeze. "I just hope we didn't wait too long to tell you," she murmured. "We thought it was best that you didn't know. We wanted to protect you. We didn't want all those terrible things hanging over your heads and—"

"Mum, I know," Rose said. She stepped back and gave her mother a small smile.

"I suppose you two had better get going," Hermione said ruefully, straightening and wiping her eyes. "We don't want you being late."

"Although we wouldn't mind having you stay for an extra day or two," their dad grinned, ruffling Hugo's hair. "I've missed having a decent chess partner."

"They're going back late enough as it is," Hermione reminded him. "They'd have had to be at the station this morning if McGonagall hadn't agreed to let them floo."

"Yeah, I know, I know." Rose's dad shook his head. "Remind me later this week to send her a nice basket of sweets from Honeydukes."

Hermione rolled her eyes and took the little ceramic pot from the shelf beside the fireplace. "Are you two ready?" she addressed her children, who were both standing with their trunks.

"Ready," they nodded.

"Alright, one last hug before you go," Dad commanded, wrapping both of them up and squeezing until Rose thought she might suffocate. "And remember to write us at least once a week. Hugh, I want regular updates on your quidditch practices with Dom and James. Rosie, I want to hear all about the books you're reading and what you're doing in ancient runes. Understand?"

"Got it, Dad," Rose grinned into his chest.

"Right then, off you go," Ron said, releasing his children and waving them towards Hermione. "Remember to speak clearly! We don't need one of you ending up across the country."

Rose shook her head and chuckled as she took a small handful of floo powder from the pot. "I'll see you guys at the end of term," she called as she stepped into the fireplace. She threw the powder down and shouted "Hogwarts!" as loudly as she could. The last thing she saw before her living room spun around and disappeared from sight was her dad's shock of red hair.

The next thing Rose knew, she was stumbling into the headmistress' office, sputtering and attempting to brush soot off her jeans.

"Good evening, Rose," McGonagall called from her desk. "I trust you had a pleasant holiday?"

"Yes we did, Aunt—er," Rose faltered when she glanced up and saw the headmistress was not alone, but appeared to be conducting a meeting with Professor Scribner. "Headmistress," Rose finished lamely. "It was nice to see Mum and Dad."

"I'm sure." McGonagall nodded and offered Rose a small smile, one that almost—almost—invited her to take a seat and eat a biscuit.

"I trust you looked over that translation I gave you?" Professor Scribner addressed Rose with a raised eyebrow and half smile.

"Yeah," Rose nodded fervently and straightened, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I had my mum look at it with me too and she said—"

There was a small commotion and Hugo came stumbling out of the fireplace, coughing and sputtering. "Sorry'm late," he wheezed, brushing soot from his hair and taking a deep breath. "Mum got upset again after you left."

"Oh," Rose mumbled, feeling her face heat up. She saw Professor Scribner and Aunt Minnie exchange a look. "We'd best get to our dormitories, Hugo."

"I'll see you tomorrow in class, Miss Weasley," Professor Scribner called.

"And I'll see you two often enough, I'm sure," McGonagall murmured, the corner of her mouth still twitching up.

Rose muttered a quick goodbye and hurriedly walked from the room, her trunk and Hugo in tow. She walked Hugo down to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room near the kitchen and, once he was safely inside, wandered back up towards Ravenclaw Tower. She barely knew where she was going. At some point she found herself face to face with the eagle knocker, which asked in its usual detached voice, "What flies when it is born, lies when it is alive, and runs when it is dead?"

"What? Er—" Rose glanced around and bit her lip. "Runs when it's alive—and—er—what?"

"A snowflake," a voice behind her answered. Rose turned around and found Dominique smiling down at her. "Hey, Rosie. Good holiday?"

"Oh—hi, Dom," Rose forced a smile on her face. "Yeah, yeah, it was great. Yours?"

"Just the usual," Dominique waved a hand airily and nudged Rose into the common room. "Vic and Teddy were sickening and adorable. Mum thought I was looking peaky. Dad kept making comments about how difficult N.E.W.T.s are and reminding me that cursebreakers need top marks."

Rose nodded and tugged her trunk closer to her. They stood in the middle of the common room now, facing the large windows looking out at the grounds.

"Rose?"

"What?" she turned back to her cousin, who was staring at her expectantly.

"Are you alright?" Dom asked, furrowing her brow. "You look—odd."

"I'm fine," Rose said. "I just have a lot to think about. Mum and Dad—er—told me and Hugo a lot over the holiday. About the war. I just want to think."

Dom's eyebrows rose and her mouth opened in understanding. She stepped forward and put an arm around Rose's shoulder. "D'you want to talk?"

"No," Rose shook her head slowly, fingering the handle of her trunk. "No offense," she added quickly, glancing up at Dom. "I just—I just want to think about it by myself for a bit."

"Okay. If you need anything, you know, come find me." Dom smiled and patted Rose on the shoulder before heading over to one of the armchairs by the fire and settling down.

Rose lingered for a moment and then made her way towards the staircase, climbing slowly towards her dormitory. When she got there, she dropped her trunk in the middle of the floor and flung herself face first on her bed. Her mind immediately started racing.

She felt as though she had aged ten years over the course of the week. All her old imaginings of her parents' heroic deeds and the adventures they had had during the war now seemed silly. Of course it hadn't been all stealing dragons and winning duels. But still, she had never imagined—

The pain on her mother's face when she recounted being tortured by death eaters at one of Voldemort's hideouts was something Rose wished she could both erase from her memory and hold onto forever. And when her parents had gone through and recounted the different people they had lost over the years, and all the pain they had endured—no, it was something Rose would never forget.

Rose lay in bed, thinking of all the terrible and brilliant things her parents had told her. Outside, the dull twilight faded to black night and Rose was vaguely aware of the fact she had missed dinner. She didn't much care, though. Although excited to see her friends and cousins, at the moment she didn't feel much like discussing her holiday nor hearing about anyone else's. She just wanted to lay in bed and replay everything her parents had told her.

And so that's what she did. She thought of her parents with a newfound appreciation for everything they had done. As the wind whistled outside the window and moonlight seeped into the dormitory, Rose lay curled up in bed, letting the warm swell of pride and gratitude wash over her as she drifted off to sleep.

Term resumed and everyone quickly fell back into the familiar routine of classes, homework, and friends. Rose was grateful for the never ending work and activity; it was a welcome distraction. She hadn't told anyone except Albus and Lucy what her parents had told her over Easter holidays, and didn't intend to. For the first time, Rose had no desire to share the stories of her parents' experience. And as the days passed, she found herself thinking about them less and less as school and quidditch filled her mind.

The first week of April, signs appeared in the common rooms announcing the date of the last Hogsmeade trip. Although the students lamented the fact it would be the last trip of the year, nearly everyone was excited about the prospect of visiting the village without having to take bulky cloaks or boots. A few days after the announcement was made, Rose sat at a table in the library with Maren, Lucy and Nathan Nott, squinting at a complicated rune translation she and Nathan were working on.

"This one here means friendship," she muttered half to herself, pointing at the hieroglyphic in question. "But then this one means two enemies meeting. So what—?" she trailed off and twirled her wand through her hair. "Maybe enemies becoming friends? Or friends becoming enemies? Or two people who thought they were friends but are actually enemies?"

"Let's just skip it," Nathan sighed, pulling out his transfiguration textbook. "Honestly, if you can't figure it out nobody else in the class will be able to."

"Why would we skip it?" Rose asked, affronted. She set her wand down on the table and pulled her runes book closer, shaking her head. "I mean, we just have to figure out exactly which of these hieroglyphics is meant to be the original relationship of the two subjects—friends or enemies—and from there it should all fall into place."

"And how do we do that?" Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"We just have to think through the sentence in various ways and then think back to what the rest of the text said and go with the most logical answer," Rose answered as though it were obvious. She picked up her quill and hastily began scrawling out translations of a piece of parchment.

"Rose, if he wants to skip it just let him skip it, for Merlin's sake," Lucy frowned across the table. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and her eyes flicked between her cousin and Nathan. Her frown deepened. "Not everyone's as barmy for runes as you are."

"I'm not _barmy_ for them," Rose muttered, sticking her lower lip out and glaring at Lucy. She roughly flipped the page of her textbook. "I just think they're interesting is all," she continued, trying to keep the twinge of hurt out of her voice. "And you're the one who always says I should work harder in class."

"I didn't say _you_ couldn't work keep working if you wanted to," Lucy sniffed, though her frown began to disappear. "Just let Nathan be done if he wants to be."

"I just think it'd be better—"

"Give it a rest, you two," Maren cut in, rolling her eyes. "And Rose, put the runes away for a bit and come help me with this transfiguration essay." She gestured towards the blank roll of parchment in front of her. "I didn't understand a word of what Lyncroft was saying in class yesterday."

"Yeah, let's just take a break for a bit." Nathan tucked his ancient runes and transfiguration books in his bag and tugged out _1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi_ and a roll of parchment. "D'you think you could help me with the potions homework?" he asked Lucy, turning towards her and setting the book down between them.

"Er, I—I suppose—" Lucy stuttered, turning a furious shade of red. "What do you need help on?"

Nathan launched into a series of questions regarding the different properties of magical fungi Professor Lecher had assigned them to read about. Rose sighed and pushed her stack of parchment and textbooks away before sliding her chair away from Lucy and Nathan and towards Maren.

"Alright," Maren began as soon as Rose had scooted close enough. "Explain all this nonsense about the Lapifors spell to me. First of all, why in the name of Merlin would anyone invent a spell just to turn stuff into _rabbits_?"

"It can sometimes be useful," Rose shrugged, flipping through Maren's open transfiguration textbook until she came to the correct page. "It can be used to hide items, or else if you were in need of a rabbit, or just for entertainment."

"Okay," Maren chewed on the tip of her quill, "but I can't figure out what it is in the spell that specifically makes the object turn into a rabbit."

"It's in the wand movement mostly—"

A rustling and the sound of someone nervously clearing their throat made Rose stop and turn around. She raised an eyebrow when she found herself looking at Matthew Corner, who was standing less than a foot from her and staring at the floor.

"Corner?" Maren asked loudly. "D'you need something?"

Matthew's eyes snapped up from the floor and fell on Rose, who couldn't help but stare back at him in bewilderment. "Er—" she began, looking around the library and wracking her brain for a reason why Matthew Corner would be seeking either Maren or her out. "Can we help you?"

"I—I—" he stammered, licking his lips. His entire face had turned beet red and Rose had to suppress the urge to laugh as she thought he looked rather like a tomato that had sprouted arms and legs.

"I was looking for you, Rose," he mumbled, his gaze falling back to the floor.

"For me?" Rose furrowed her brow. "Er—why?"

"I—er—dyouwannagotohogsmeadewithme?"

Rose blinked and stared at Matthew Corner for a second, unsure if she had heard the rush of words that had just spilled from his mouth correctly. "Er—sorry—what was that?" she asked, feeling a strange panic rise up in her chest. Maybe she had heard wrong. Yes, she had definitely heard him wrong. Maren's silent sniggers beside her were just because of the stupid rabbit spell. Because she was Rose Weasley and no boy would ever ask—

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Matthew spoke louder this time, and painfully slow, as though purposefully drawing out every syllable so she couldn't possibly mishear.

"No." The response shot out of Rose's mouth before she had time to think. Matthew Corner's scarlet face fell almost immediately.

"Oh," he mumbled, looking a bit dazed. "I—that's—I guess I'll—" he nearly tripped on his feet in his haste to turn around, shoving his hands in his pockets and ducking his head down as he went.

Rose felt her face heat up and regretted her quick rejection. Maybe she ought to have waited and considered before answering. He was a nice bloke, after all, even if he was a bit nervous and mousy. And she'd never had a date to Hogsmeade before. Clearing her throat, Rose called out feebly, "Er—no, Matthew—wait," her cheeks now scorching. She glanced around and saw Maren, Lucy and Nathan all watching her with odd expressions. Lucy narrowed her eyes and kicked Rose hard in the shin under the table. Biting her tongue to keep from crying out, Rose hurriedly looked away before she lost her nerve and turned back to Matthew, who stood frozen a few feet away from her, looking cautiously over his shoulder as though she might attack him. "Er—" Rose mumbled, running a hand through her tangled hair and trying to think of what to say. "I-sorry, you just—er—surprised me is all. Yeah, I'll—er—I'll go to Hogsmeade with you. If you'd like."

"Really?" Matthew's eyes widened and he straightened up, the color in his face dissipating somewhat. "You—really?"

"Yeah," Rose choked out, uncomfortably aware of the fact her face was practically in flames and her three friends were openly staring at the scene in front of them. "Er—I—I'd love to."

Matthew's face split into a wide grin and he finally turned to face her fully. "It—you—yeah—okay," he rambled, nodding furiously. "I—I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow then."

"Okay," Rose said weakly, returning his smile. She was beginning to get the queasy feeling she got whenever she ate one too many pieces of Grandma Molly's fudge. "Have a good night, then."

"Yeah—er—yeah—you too!" Matthew said. He turned again and trotted out of the library.

Rose didn't move for a moment, then turned mechanically to stare at her friends and asked "Did that really happen?"

"Yeah, it did," Maren answered with a giggle. "You—" she broke off and let out a snort, "you—"

"You're going to Hogsmeade with Matthew Corner!" Lucy half shrieked, letting out a howl of laughter that made Rose jump. "You, Rose Minerva Weasley are—oh—" Lucy doubled over and let her sentence go unfinished as she laughed.

"It's not funny!" Rose cried, covering her face with her hands. "I couldn't very well say no!"

To that, Lucy only laughed harder and wiped away a stream of tears from the corner of her eye. "It's just—oh _Merlin_ —of all the people in the world, _you_ have a date to Hogsmeade. And with Matthew Corner of all people!"

Rose stuck her nose in the air and replied haughtily, "You're sounding awfully rude, Lucy."

"Oh, shut it," Lucy said, her mirth finally subsiding. She righted herself and wiped her face before tucking her hair behind her ears. "You know I don't mean it like that. He's very nice. It's just—oh, you have to admit it, Rosie, it's rather funny if you think about it."

"It's absolutely hilarious," Maren nodded, grinning broadly. She patted Rose on the shoulder and waggled her eyebrows. "Maybe soon we'll have to send you and Matthew over to work at your own table with the other love birds." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder towards the corner of the library where Scorpius and Allie had been working as the whole scene played out, both bent over their notes and whispering, horribly oblivious to the events transpiring less than twenty feet away from them.

"Blech," Rose scrunched up her face in horror. "Just because I'm going to Hogsmeade with him doesn't mean he'll be my boyfriend—"

"What if he asks?" Maren prompted, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "What if you're at the Three Broomsticks and he's holding your hands and you're sharing a butterbeer—"

" _We will not be sharing a butterbeer!_ "

"And he looks into your eyes and says 'Rose Minerva Weasley will you—"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Rose covered her ears and shut her eyes.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Maren continued, her eyes dancing as Rose put her head on the table in an attempt to disappear. "Because I want to sit next to you at all meals and always hold hands and someday I want to _kiss_ you—"

"Oh, Uncle Ron would go mad if Matthew tried to do that," Lucy said, her lip twitching. "What d'you think he'd say about you going to Hogsmeade with a boy at all?"

Rose glanced up and glared at her cousin. "Don't you dare say a word to him," she snapped. She could already imagine the horror that would be her life if her dad knew about the date: the long, concerned letters, her cousins tailing her, the entire family "coincidentally" visiting Uncle George's shop that day and cornering her.

"I won't say anything, Rosie," Lucy smiled.

"Well, this has all been very interesting," Nathan chuckled, gathering his things and causing Rose to jump. She'd almost forgotten he was there. "But I'd best be getting back to my dormitory," Nathan continued, fastening his bag and standing up. He grinned at Rose. "Your Grandma sent Al a big batch of fudge and we've been saving it for tonight and it sounds like you lot have quite a bit to talk about."

"We'll go too then," Lucy said, laying down her quill. "We really do have a lot to talk about," she added with a grin in Rose's direction.

They packed up, though Rose made a point to dawdle as much as possible. After saying goodbye to Nathan in the corridor, the three girls walked towards Ravenclaw tower.

"So, Rose has a date for Hogsmeade," Maren chuckled, nudging Rose in the shoulder and winking. "Who'd have thought it?"

"Shove off," Rose grumbled, going red in the face again. She was beginning to wish she had just said no to Matthew Corner and let him walk off.

"Now, Rosie," Lucy interjected, "you know we're just taking the mick. I think it's lovely you're going with him. I was about ready to smack you when you just shouted out no and he looked so heartbroken."

"He wasn't _heartbroken_ —"

"And anyways," Lucy plowed on, ignoring Rose's protest, "Matthew's plenty nice. And he's always so nervous. Frankly, I'm surprised he plucked up the courage to ask you."

"I suppose."

"And maybe he'll buy your butterbeer for you," Maren said, still grinning.

"That's true," Rose said thoughtfully. "And," a grin spread over her face and she slowed down to look at her friends. "I'm the only one of us with a date."

"Allie has a date," Lucy said.

"Allie and Scorpius are going out though," Rose made a face. "So that doesn't count."

Maren and Lucy rolled their eyes. "What if one of us gets a date?" Lucy asked, tightening her ponytail. "What then?"

Rose shrugged and then smirked. "Then I'll be able to get you back for making fun of me so horribly. But," she raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure you won't go with anyone except Nathan, and I can't exactly make fun of you for that."

"I don't—"

"Sure, Luce," Rose laughed, clapping her cousin on the back. Nearly all her ill humor had dissipated. "But hey, if both of us have dates, then maybe my dad won't go so barmy when he hears!"

By the end of the week the entire school seemed to know about Rose's Hogsmeade date, much to her annoyance. Not to say that people were unkind. Quite the opposite, in fact. Most of those who openly asked her about the date were third years themselves and were still fascinated by the concept of a boy and girl going to the village as something other than friends. Actually, the people who asked the most irritating questions, ignored all boundaries and grated on Rose's nerves the most over the course of the week were her cousins. Every time Dom saw Rose now, she would waggle her eyebrows and ask if Rose was excited for her date with "the Corner boy." James had bellowed across the Great Hall that Matthew Corner had best watch himself and proceeded to list off the various ways he would hex him if Matthew wasn't careful. And, perhaps worst of all, a few days after accepting Matthew's offer, Rose found herself being interrogated by Fred in the charms corridor.

She had just left class with Maren, discussing the new quidditch maneuver Dom wanted to try at practice that evening, when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find her cousin giving her a pointed look.

"Hi, Freddie," she, giving him a weak smile and wishing fervently that he wouldn't ask about Matthew Corner.

"I hear you have a date to Hogsmeade," he said evenly, his dark eyes boring into her blue ones.

Drat. Rose sighed and bit her lip. Maren chuckled and gave Rose small wave before walking over to Lucy and Allie. "Er, yeah," Rose muttered. "Matthew Corner asked me and I—well—you can't just say no!"

"I suppose not." Fred raised an eyebrow.

"And so—I—I didn't say no."

"I gathered that much."

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and glanced at her cousin, who was giving her an odd look. "Please don't make fun of me," she blurted out, her face flushing. "I—everyone's laughing at me for it."

Fred's eyebrows shot up. "I wasn't going to laugh at you," he said. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed before continuing, "I actually wanted to ask if you fancy this Corner bloke. Because if you do then James and I are obligated to keep an eye on him."

"I—fancy? Fancy Matthew Corner?" Rose squeaked, her eyebrows knitting together. Why would he think-? It was the most absurd idea, really.

"Well, usually when people go to Hogsmeade together they fancy each other," Fred said slowly. "And you're going with Corner. So, do you?"

"No!" Rose cried vehemently. "I don't, really, I promise. I would never have even thought of going with him, but he asked and then I said no and he looked so upset—"

"You said no?" Fred's lip twitched.

"Yes!" Rose nodded, her face flushing. "And he looked so disappointed and I—well, he's not a bad bloke, and I've never had a date to Hogsmeade—" she trailed off.

"So you don't fancy him," Fred nodded slowly, his shoulders relaxing. "And he knows that?"

"Er—I don't know?" Rose made a face. "We don't really talk much."

"Well," Fred said, putting an arm around Rose's shoulders, "just remember you don't have to spend much time with him if he's a dud, okay?" The small smile on his face faded and was replaced with a more serious expression. "If you're not having fun it's perfectly alright to make an excuse and find your friends. And," he narrowed his eyes and leaned closer, "if he tries anything funny you find me or James and we'll set him straight."

"Er—"

"You're only a third year, the kid probably just wants to hold hands at the Three Broomsticks," Fred mumbled half to himself. "But—you never know. Just—don't feel like you have to do anything just because some bloke asked you on a date."

"Okay?" Rose frowned. "What would I have to do?"

Fred hesitated, and then shook his head. "Actually, don't worry about it," he gave her a smile. "I'm being a bit mental, aren't I?"

"I mean, I don't—"

"Right, well," Fred cut her off, removing his arm from around her shoulders. "I think I've spent a bit too much time with your dad. I just wanted to ask you about it. And you know, if you need anything, just ask. Although Dom and Molly will probably jump at the chance."

"I haven't thought about—"

"Just have fun, Rosie," Fred said, tugging at her hair. "And if he offers to buy your butterbeer, let him." He winked and without another word walked away.

Rose promptly sprinted to Ravenclaw Tower and burst into her dormitory in a panic.

"I can't go to Hogsmeade," she announced to her roommates, who were all lying on the floor leafing through old issues of _Witch Weekly_.

"What?" Lucy looked up in confusion. When she took in Rose's red face and look of panic, she stood up and crossed the room. "What are you on about?"

"I can't go!" Rose cried, flinging herself on her bed. "I don't know how to go on a date! I don't know how to do any of it, and Fred was just talking to me—"

"Don't listen to Fred," Lucy chided, sitting down beside Rose. "You know all the boys are a bit barmy."

"But he went on about Matthew trying something _funny_ with me and then said that I need to remember I don't have to do anything because a boy takes me on a date and I don't—what does that even mean?" Rose wailed. "Will I—" she sat bolt up and stared at Lucy with wide eyes. "Did he mean, Lucy, will I have to _kiss_ Matthew Corner?"

"Er," Lucy hesitated, tugging at the ends of her hair. "I don't know," she said finally. "I know Dom said she kisses the boys she goes to Hogsmeade with but I don't know if they kiss just because they go together or if they'd do that anyways."

"Katrina DeMarco told me she always kisses her dates," Maren piped up, depositing herself on Rose's bed along with Allie. "She said you need to snog a bloke at least once in order to know whether you really like him or not."

"But I don't want to," Rose said quickly. "I mean—I don't know, actually—I've never kissed anyone—but, I don't think—"

"Allie, what do you think?" Lucy asked, turning to the blonde. "You're the only one who's gone on a Hogsmeade date before."

"I'm not sure," Allie flushed, "what do you want to know, exactly?"

"When you and Scorpius first went to Hogsmeade, what did you do?" Rose asked, momentarily forgetting her irritation with the couple in question. "Did you have to do anything special?"

"I don't know," Allie said thoughtfully. "I tried to look extra nice, and I suppose he did too. And I talked more than I usually do because it was just the two of us, and I only ordered one butterbeer instead of two."

"But did you kiss and everything?" Rose demanded.

"Not the first time, no," Allie responded mildly, a small smile crossing her face. "We just held hands and—and at the end he gave me a hug."

"That's all?" Rose's shoulders sagged in relief.

Allie nodded. "It was very romantic," she said quietly, still smiling.

"So you didn't kiss until later?" Rose asked.

"Not until a week later," Allie said, grinning. "In the library."

"Was it worth the wait?" Lucy asked breathlessly, her eyes trained on Allie.

Allie didn't say anything, but nodded slowly as a furious blush crept up her cheeks. "Yes, I think so."

"Ooh," Lucy squealed, smiling wistfully. "That's so cute," she breathed.

"Yes, well," Rose broke in, crinkling her nose at the direction the conversation had taken. "What if Matthew does try to—you know—"

"Kiss you?" Maren giggled. "Do you think he will? He was barely able to ask you to go out with him."

"He didn't ask me to go out with him!" Rose said quickly. "We're not going out. We're going to Hogsmeade! And this is the problem, what if he thinks we're going out?"

"Then you set him straight." Maren shrugged.

"But what if he tries to do something first?"

"Then you say no thank you and if he doesn't like that then you leave," Lucy said.

"Or you smack him," Maren grinned. "That's what happens in the muggle television shows my grandma watches."

"D'you think I'd get a detention for smacking him in Hogsmeade?" Rose asked thoughtfully. "I know James got one for hexing Barnabas Smith last year, but Roxie said that was just because James did it in the middle of Honeydukes."

"If you do it somewhere private you shouldn't get in trouble," Maren said.

"But what if he tries something in public?"

"You can always just take your chances," Maren grinned. "Blimey, I'd love to see it."

"But you're not going to smack anyone, Rosie," Lucy broke in sharply, giving Rose and Maren a pointed look. "That's rude and unnecessary."

"And he might not even try to kiss you," Allie added. "He might just want to have a butterbeer."

Rose nodded. "Right, right. Just a butterbeer. You—er—" she swallowed and continued, "you don't think it's possible he fancies me, do you?"

Maren snorted. "Don't boys usually fancy you if they ask you to Hogsmeade?"

"That's what Fred said!" Rose cried. "But I've barely even ever spoken to Matthew Corner!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Lucy said, raising an eyebrow. "Really, Rosie, you're making this into a much bigger deal—"

"I am not!"

"Than it is. Honestly, why can't you just go to Hogsmeade with him and have a butterbeer?"

"I just want to be prepared!"

"Well you're being silly," Lucy shook her head. "Honestly, you're acting like he asked you to marry him."

"Well so is everyone else," Rose grumbled, flopping back down onto her pillows. "Why is having a Hogsmeade date so frightfully stressful?"

"They're really not," Allie chirped, sitting beside Rose and putting a hand on her forearm. "They're a bit scary in the beginning, but once you're there it's alright."

"Hm," Rose groaned into her pillow. "I hope you're right."

"Even if I'm wrong," Allie smiled, "it'll still be fun. Just think, the worst that can happen is you get James to hex Matthew Corner. And you know he'd make a show of it."

Rose snorted. "I suppose. What if James isn't there, though?"

"Then Maren will hex him," Allie laughed. "And that would almost be even better, don't you think?"

The day of the Hogsmeade visit arrived, and Rose didn't think she had ever been so nervous for anything in her entire life.

"What if it's weird?" she fretted to Lucy as they walked to breakfast. "What if he can barely speak to me and then I don't know what to say and we just sit in silence? What if he talks too much? What if it's dreadfully boring? What if someone told Uncle George and he tells my dad and the whole family shows up? And do I have to wear makeup? What if I sweat too much and it comes off, because you know it's always so warm in the Three Broomsticks—"

"Rose," Lucy grabbed her hand and forced her to come to a halt. "Stop. You're driving me mad."

"I need your help!" Rose cried, throwing her free hand in the air. "Everything is a disaster!"

"No, it's not." Lucy rolled her eyes and continued walking. "You're being ridiculous."

"That's easy for you to say," Rose whined. "You don't have a date. You get to just go to the village with Maren and Al and everyone!"

"So do you," Lucy said evenly. "You'll just also have Matthew Corner with you. And the whole family won't show up. If they let Vic and Teddy alone, I don't think they'll come all the way to Hogsmeade just to see you and Matthew."

"Right," Rose nodded.

"And Molly told me that she and Dom are going to come help us get ready again, so ask them about makeup—"

"I don't want to wear makeup."

"Well you don't have to."

They arrived in the Great Hall and took their seats. Allie and Maren were already there, giggling excitedly over their plates.

"Good morning," Allie said when she saw Rose and Lucy. "Are you excited for today?" she asked, looking at Rose and grinning.

Rose only nodded. Lucy rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, we both are. Except Rose is going mental because she thinks the world's going to end because of this date."

"Oy!" Rose frowned and smacked her cousin in the shoulder. "I didn't say it's going to end, I'm just a bit worried—"

"Are you still on about that?" Maren asked.

"No," Rose mumbled, taking a large bite out of a muffin. "I'm ju'sayn."

After breakfast the four girls trooped up to their dormitory where Dom and Molly met them, clucking over clothes. Rose allowed her cousins to rifle through her trunk and pick out items, though she and Molly argued for nearly ten minutes over the suitability of one of Grandma Molly's Weasley jumpers. Rose didn't see what was so bad about wearing one of Grandma's sweaters to Hogsmeade; Molly and Dom both refused to even consider the possibility.

At noon, the girls all made their way down to the Entrance Hall, their cheeks flushed from the wisp of blush Dom had applied. Rose looked down at her outfit, a pair of tights and a thick white jumper that fell to her knees which Aunt Fleur had gotten her in Paris two years ago. She had the leather bag Uncle Bill had given her slung over her shoulder and her hair fell in loose ringlets over her shoulders, thanks to a smoothing charm performed by Molly and copious amounts of Sleekeazy's.

After waving goodbye to Molly and Dom, the girls stood off to the side in the hall, waiting for the boys. Rose pulled at a piece of hair and scanned the crowd of students around her, feeling rather self-conscious. She thought Dom and Molly may have overdone everything. She would admit she liked her outfit, but the amount of time and effort put into her hair, and the touches of makeup seemed excessive. She didn't even particularly _like_ the boy she was going to the village with, for Merlin's sake.

"Oh, here they come!" Lucy said, standing up straighter. Rose followed her line of vision and saw Scorpius, Tommy, Al, Nathan, and Matthew all walking towards them. She stood up a bit straighter and adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"Hey there," Nathan said jovially when they were within earshot. "Shall we get a spot in line?"

They agreed and moved accordingly. As they did so, Matthew Corner walked around Albus so that he stood directly next to Rose, giving her a shy smile. "Er, hi," he said.

"Hey," Rose replied, swallowing heavily and forcing her face into a smile. "I—er—are you excited?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "And you—you look pretty," he said very quickly, turning towards the floor.

"Thank you," Rose couldn't help the small, genuine grin that spread over her face. "My cousins helped me get ready."

Matthew nodded and they grew silent, looking around. "So," Rose stuttered, "you walked in with Al and everyone?"

"Oh, yeah," Matthew chewed his lip. "Nathan asked yesterday if I'd like to walk with them, since they're meeting up with your friends."

"That was nice of him," Rose mused. She glanced at Nathan, who was talking animatedly with Lucy and Maren. "He's a nice bloke."

"Mhm."

They lapsed into silence again. Rose stared around the hall, searching for something to say. Her eyes fell on Allie and Scorpius, who were standing a few feet away and holding hands. Allie looked like a model again, Rose couldn't help but think. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves past her shoulders, and the baby blue jumper she wore made her dark eyes pop. Scorpius seemed to realize how pretty his girlfriend looked, as he was just staring at her with a small, shy smile on his face. He let go of Allie's hand and awkwardly put his arm around her shoulder, though they were the same height and he had to stand on his toes in order to do so. Allie turned to him and grinned, her cheeks stained pink from embarrassment and Dominique's blush.

"Have you started that essay for Lyncroft yet?"

"What?" Rose tore her eyes away from Allie and Scorpius and found Matthew watching her expectantly. "Oh, yeah, I did it yesterday after dinner," she said airily. "Wasn't too bad."

"Oh," Matthew said. "I—I think it's a bit difficult. Maybe—er—maybe you could help me with it?" He looked up nervously and brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes. "If—if you want?"

"Yeah, sure," Rose shrugged. "I told Lucy and Nathan I'd help them too. You can come along if you'd like."

She didn't hear Matthew's reply, because at that moment they arrived at the front of the queue and were interrupted by a very irate Filch demanding to know what they were taking out of the castle. When they finally were allowed to leave the castle, Rose spotted Maren and Albus climbing into a carriage and ran to join them, forgetting Matthew entirely until she was already squeezed into the carriage and he trotted towards her, very red in the face.

"Is there room?" he asked uncertainly.

"Er, yeah," Rose mumbled, flushing and scrambling to make room. "Here," she gestured to the sliver of space between her and Albus.

Matthew climbed in and squashed himself into the seat. The ride to Hogsmeade was uneventful, with Maren being the main source of conversation. Rose remained quiet, unsure of what to do. The few times she looked over at Matthew he was staring off to the side, and she lost her nerve and chose not to say anything.

When they arrived in the village, it was decided that they should go to the Three Broomsticks first. Rose agreed readily, relieved that she wouldn't have to go anywhere alone with Matthew quite yet. She followed Albus through the door and they quickly sat down at a large table. Lucy and Nathan sat next to each other, deep in conversation about some muggle gadget that played music. Rose found herself seated between Albus and Matthew.

"Six butterbeers please," Albus said to Madam Rosmerta.

The drinks arrived shortly, and Rose gulped hers down, enjoying the feel of warm liquid coursing through her.

"Hey cousins!" Roxanne materialized beside their table, flanked by the Scamander twins and a dark haired boy Rose vaguely recognized. Her attention was diverted by the fact Lysander's arm was draped around Roxanne's shoulder. Something in Rose's stomach squirmed uncomfortably and she looked away pointedly, the old hurt and embarrassment rising up like bile in her throat.

"Hi, Roxie," Lucy waved. "What're you up to today?"

"We're just getting some drinks and then going to the Shrieking Shack," Roxanne said, grinning at her companions. "Ly's never been."

"That'll be fun," Lucy smiled.

"Mhm," Roxanne nodded. Her eyes turned to Rose and then fell on Matthew Corner. "So, Corner," she said loudly, smirking. "How's it going with my little cousin?"

"Er," Matthew stammered, looking very much like a small animal in front of an oncoming car, "good?"

"Just make sure you look after her," Roxanne said. "She can be a handful."

Rose suppressed the urge to take out her wand and hit Roxanne with a bat bogey hex, and felt her ears and neck grow warm. "Roxie," she said harshly. "Leave us alone."

"I'm just kidding, Rosie," Roxanne snorted. "Don't get your wand in a knot. And anyways, we're about to leave. I just wanted to say hi."

"Well, hi," Rose said, still glaring at her cousin. "Now bye."

Roxanne rolled her eyes. "You're starting to act like Dom." She surveyed the table again and nodded towards Nathan. "Oy, I don't think I know you. I'm Roxanne, their cousin. Fred's sister."

"Nathan Nott," he smiled. "I've heard a bit about you, I think, although I can't be quite sure." He grinned ruefully. "There's so many Weasley cousins it's a bit difficult to keep them straight."

"Don't I know it," Roxanne shook her head. "And this is Ly and Lorcan," she said, gesturing to the Scamanders, "and this is Theo Vance," she pointed towards the dark haired boy. "Actually," she looked around at her cousins, "do any of you know Theo?"

They all shook their head.

"Well, he's friends with Lorcan and Ly," Roxanne said. "He's in our year."

"Nice to meet you," Lucy said.

"You too," Theo Vance replied, giving them a small smile.

"Well, we're off then," Roxanne said, beginning to walk towards the door. "And, Rosie, I expect to hear everything from you tomorrow."

Rose glared at her cousin again and tugged at the sleeves of her jumper. The door slammed shut and Roxanne was gone, leaving a silence and a very angry Rose.

"So, Matthew, what classes did you take this year?" Lucy asked a bit too loudly, taking a sip of her drink and smiling broadly. "Other than the required ones, of course."

"Arithmancy, divination, and muggle studies," he replied quietly.

"Oh, how do you like divination?" Lucy smiled. "Allie's in that too and she said it's interesting."

"It's alright," Matthew shrugged, glancing at Rose for a moment before continuing, "I'm rather good at it."

"Good for you," Lucy said. "I didn't take it but I just know I'd be rubbish at it. I know my mum thought it was very difficult."

"My mum said the whole subject of divination is a fraud," Rose piped up, swallowing the last of her butterbeer. "She said it's silly they still teach it at Hogwarts at all."

Lucy didn't answer, but the swift kick Rose received in the shin told her she'd said the wrong thing.

"Er—" Rose bit her lip, looking at Matthew who had gone red in the face again. "What d'you think of arithmancy then? I thought that class looked rather interesting, but it conflicted with care of magical creatures."

Matthew shrugged and took a drink of his butterbeer. "It's difficult," he said. "Although I suppose it is rather interesting." He caught her eye and seemed to relax a bit. "It seems like something you'd like."

"Our cousin Dom's taking her N.E.W.T. for arithmancy soon," Albus broke in. "She said it's ghastly stuff, but you need it if you want to work at Gringotts or do anything with wizarding currency."

"Is she going to work at Gringotts, then?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"She wants to," Lucy answered. "She wants to be a cursebreaker like her dad."

"Blimey," Maren said. "Don't you need nearly all O's to be accepted into the cursebreaker training?"

"Pretty much," Albus nodded. "She's been studying almost all year."

"No wonder she's been so mental at quidditch practice," Maren laughed. "Did you know the other day she made me stay and do extra drills because I dropped the quaffle one time?"

"She made you stay after because you dropped the quaffle while trying to do a flip on your broom," Rose pointed out, snorting at the memory of Maren nearly falling off her broom.

"Yeah, well," Maren grumbled. "I could barely lift my quill the next morning, my arm hurt so bad."

"She does take everything very seriously," Lucy sighed. "But I suppose you have to when you're in your seventh year. After all, pretty soon she's going to have to get a job."

"Ugh, don't even talk about that," Nathan groaned, shaking his head. "I don't ever want to get a job. I want to stay at Hogwarts forever."

"Hear, hear," Maren and Albus chirped.

"I don't know," Rose mused, grinning to herself. "I quite like the idea of never having to go to another potions class again."

"But do you like the idea of never getting to go to another ancient runes class?" Lucy asked pointedly.

"Oh," Rose stopped and hesitated. "No," she shook her head. "No, I don't like that idea at all."

Everyone laughed and Rose grinned. She turned and saw Matthew Corner laughing along, looking much less nervous now. This was going much better than she had expected, Rose mused, stealing Albus' butterbeer and taking a gulp. It hardly felt like a date at all.

They continued talking about classes and the horror of O.W.L.s that they would all know in two years. Rose ordered another butterbeer, though she nearly spat out her first mouthful when Nathan mentioned he wanted to try out for the Slytherin quidditch team next year.

"You have to!" she cried happily. "Oh, that'd be brilliant, you and Al could play together! You should come to the Burrow this summer and practice with us, we play nearly every day and often some of the grown-ups play too."

"That's what Al was telling me," Nathan said. "And I think I am coming to the Burrow this summer, I just have to ask my mum which week."

"Brilliant," Rose grinned. "What position do you play?"

"Keeper," Nathan answered.

"We can practice together!"

Something cold and slightly damp was on her hand and Rose broke off to take a look. What she found was Matthew Corner's hand awkwardly covering her own, his fingers trying to work between her own so that they were holding hands. Rose froze. She glanced quickly around the table, though to her relief nobody seemed to have noticed what was going on. She looked then at Matthew who was concentrated so completely on his effort to hold her hand he didn't even notice her staring at him. Shifting in her seat and moving her eyes back to the table, Rose relaxed her hand so Matthew could lace his fingers with hers. His hand was sweaty and his fingers were cold, and Rose didn't feel any kind of affection from the gesture, but she didn't snatch her hand back, nor did she move at all.

The conversation continued and Rose's hand stayed trapped by Matthew Corner's. Gradually, she relaxed and fell back into talking to her friends, almost forgetting that she was holding hands with someone. It was all very strange, she thought. She, Rose Weasley, was at the Three Broomsticks holding hands with a boy.

Who would have guessed.

When they'd each drunk enough butterbeer and paid, they decided to make their way to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Rose was excited to go to the joke shop, although she thought she might try to keep her distance from Matthew while Uncle George was watching. She didn't want to take any chances with word getting back to her dad.

They walked out onto High Street and Rose wrapped her arms around herself. The May air was warm but the wind still cut through her jumper, giving her goosebumps and sending her hair flying in all directions. Beside her, Matthew reached out and gently took hold of her elbow, stopping her. "Er, Rose?" he asked, his eyes somewhere between her nose and her shoulder. "Could—could I actually speak to you?"

"Sure," Rose said slowly. "Let me just—er—oy!" she called out, waving to get Maren and Lucy's attention. "We'll just meet you lot there!" she cried, gesturing to herself and Matthew. Maren smirked and Lucy raised an eyebrow, but neither questioned it. They both nodded and continued down the street, although Rose thought she heard a few giggles coming from them.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked Matthew, wiping hair off her face.

"Er, could we actually go somewhere more—more private?" he mumbled.

"Okay," Rose furrowed her brow. "Like where?"

"Like—er—" Matthew looked around and then pointed to the cramped alley between the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes. "How about right here? It'll only take a minute," he said quickly.

Rose nodded and followed him until they stood between the two buildings, just off the street. "So what's up?" she asked, looking up at Matthew.

"Well," he said slowly, shuffling his feet and chewing on his lip. "I—er—I'm having a really nice time, Rosie—"

"Rose," she interrupted. "Call me Rose."

"Right," Matthew flushed. "Sorry."

"S'alright."

"But, er, Rose, I'm having a nice time and—er—" Matthew glanced at her and took a deep breath. "And I—I'm glad you agreed to come with me."

Rose didn't say anything. She didn't quite know what to say. Where was Lucy when she needed her? What were you supposed to say when a boy told you he was glad you'd gone to Hogsmeade with him? "Er," she murmured, toying with a piece of hair. "You're welcome."

"And, er—" Matthew stammered, biting his lip. "I—I—"

Then it happened.

Rose watched with a mixture of fascination and horror as Matthew Corner took another deep breath and then leaned closer and closer to her. She didn't even register what was happening until his mouth touched hers. She stood frozen, staring. His eyes were closed and his mouth was wet. It was over very quickly. By the time Rose recovered herself enough to pull away, Matthew had already stepped back, his eyes flying open.

Rose simply stared at him, her feet rooted to the spot. If she hadn't been so horrified, she might have cried. He wasn't supposed to do that. He was just supposed to buy her butterbeer. "Er—" Her face felt as though it were on fire and she suddenly felt very claustrophobic standing between the two buildings. "You kissed me," she murmured stupidly, still staring at the dazed and grinning boy in front of her. "You—that was—"

"I wanted to do it all afternoon," he said quickly, cutting her off and straightening up. "I—I think you're the prettiest girl in our year, Rose. And—and the smartest, and the funniest. And you came here with me and now we're—"

"No," Rose broke in, finding her voice and taking another step back. "Oh, no, I—Matthew—I don't—today was nice—"

"I thought so too."

"But it's not—it's not really anything, is it?" Rose finished awkwardly. Her face was scorching now, and she wished furiously that she was in Uncle George's shop with her friends and not standing in a cramped alley with Matthew Corner who had just kissed her. This was not how dates were supposed to go, she thought bitterly. This was not how things went in stories.

"It—you don't think it is?" Matthew squeaked, his eyes widening and his expression crumbling. "I thought—today was a date—"

"Yes, but, we're not—we're not going out—" Rose chewed the inside of her cheek furiously. Oh, she knew she should have just said no to this whole thing. She knew it was a dreadful idea. She should have never taken pity on Matthew Corner and his silly stammering.

"Oh." Was all Matthew said. He dropped his gaze to the ground and kicked the pavement. "I see."

"I—I still had a nice time," Rose offered feebly, trying very hard to smile and failing miserably.

Matthew nodded. "But you—we're not—?"

"Er, no—no thank you."

There was a pause, and Rose wished the ground would open up and swallow her. "I—I'm going to find my friends." She took a tentative step and bit her lip. She ought to say something more. If Lucy were here, she would glare at Rose and make her say something kind. "But—er—" she licked her lips, "thanks for, you know, the date. It was nice." And then she turned and fled, walking quickly up High Street until she burst through the door of Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

"There you are," Maren said, peering around an armful of merchandise. "We were beginning to think you and Corner were off snogging somewhere."

Rose's face grew even warmer; by now it was hot enough to cook an egg. "I—he—" she stammered, gesturing wildly and unable to find words to explain the horror of what had just taken place. Her hands shook and she felt a few tears leak out . "He—Matthew—kissed!"

Maren's eyes went wide and she rushed forward, ignoring the items falling from her arms. "He what?" she squealed. "Did you just say he kissed you? When? Where? Oh, Merlin, Rose, what happened? Tell me everything!"

Rose poured out the whole story and covered her face with her hands. In the time it had taken, Lucy and Nathan had found them and now stood around her. Lucy had an arm around Rose's shoulder, Nathan looked as though he were trying not to smile, and Maren was openly grinning.

"It was so awful," Rose moaned for the eighth time between her fingers.

"But how was the kiss?" Maren asked, waggling her eyebrows. "Was it romantic like Allie said it is?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "It was—awful. And wet."

"Blech," Maren made a face.

"Blech," Rose agreed, nodding. "Oh, I wish it'd never happened!" She lowered her hands and glared at Lucy and Maren. "You said it wouldn't happen!"

"What's this? What's happened?" A new voice broke in. Rose looked up to see Allie peering over Lucy's shoulder. "Rosie! How was your date with Matthew?"

"He kissed her and she said it was horrible," Maren said with a barely suppressed giggle.

"It _was_ horrible!" Rose cried indignantly. "He said he thought we were going out, which you all told me he wouldn't," she glared at Lucy, who simply raised her eyebrows. "And he kissed me! Which he wasn't supposed to. And it—it wasn't at all like I thought kissing would be like." She sank further in her seat and bit her lip.

"What did you think it'd be?" Allie asked, kneeling beside Rose and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know!" Rose said. "But in the books it's always magical and lovely and everyone's so happy when it happens. It's sweet and romantic. And this one—wasn't."

"Oh," Allie replied. She tugged at a strand of hair. "Well, if it makes you feel better, the first time Scorpius kissed me it wasn't that nice either. It was just a little peck and it was so quick—the only reason I thought it was anything special was because it was him."

Rose grunted and restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Allie was only trying to help, it wasn't her fault she was doing a rotten job of it.

But the thought of Allie and Scorpius kissing was blech. The thought of Allie and Scorpius sharing an awkward, wet, horrible kiss like the one Rose had just been part of was double blech. And Rose had endured too much blech already today.

"Maybe we should just pay here and go back to the castle," Lucy suggested, glancing at Rose and smiling sympathetically. "We can find Louis or Hugo and play chess."

"Or do makeup with Lily," Maren added, smiling.

"That'd be brill," Rose said, nodding slowly. "I just don't want to look at another boy for the rest of my life. No offense," she glanced at Nathan.

"None taken," Nathan shrugged. "I can find Al and we'll come back with him. Though, I suppose you don't want me to tell him what happened?"

"No!" Rose cried, nearly jumping out of her seat. "No, no, do not tell him!"

"Alright, alright," Nathan said. "He'll probably find out soon enough, anyways."

Rose just groaned and covered her face with her hands again. "Why did this have to happen to me?"

"Oh, cheer up, Rosie," Lucy said, patting Rose on the back. "No one'll be too mean about it."

"It's still going to be awful," Rose sighed. She leaned back against Allie and muttered, "can we all just go back to the castle?"

"Is that alright with you lot?" Lucy asked, turning towards the others.

Maren and Nathan nodded. "I think Scorpius and I are going to stay," Allie said shyly, glancing apologetically at Rose. "I want to try going to Madam Puddifoot's. But if you really want me to—"

"No, no," Rose said quickly, looping an arm around Allie and giving her a hug.

"You should stay if you want to," Lucy agreed, nodding her head. "You and Scorpius should enjoy the rest of your day."

Allie stood up and brushed off her jumper. "I'll see you later then," she said as she departed. "Oh, and Rose?" she called over her shoulder, her brown eyes dancing and her cheeks a bit redder than they had been a moment before. "Kissing gets better the more you do it." She flashed a cheeky grin and then scampered away.

Rose's eyebrows shot up as she watched her friend go. Her stomach squirmed again as she thought over Allie's words.

"Ready to go?" Lucy asked as she made her way to the register.

Rose nodded, still watching Allie. The blonde had made her way across the shop by now and was back with Scorpius, whom Rose hadn't even thought to be in the store. Allie gave Scorpius a hug and then pecked him on the mouth. He smiled at her and she then kissed him again, this time for longer. Rose looked away and screwed up her face, now feeling decidedly queasy. Having a boyfriend and a date to Hogsmeade sounded nice in theory, but she was beginning to think it was all just a sham. And, most importantly, she didn't see how kissing could get better with practice. It all looked to be just the same to her. Blech.

* * *

I'm in bed with the stomach flu so I figured I'd update. As always, reviews make my day 86x better.


	14. Chapter 14

In the weeks following their disastrous Hogsmeade date, Rose took to avoiding Matthew Corner. Although he was also a Ravenclaw and they shared classes and mealtimes and living quarters, it really wasn't very difficult for her to avoid him. For that, she had Dominique to thank.

As her seventh year at Hogwarts began to draw to a close, Dominique Weasley seemed to have gone a bit crazy. Her quidditch team definitely thought so. When it became apparent that Ravenclaw had a chance to take the quidditch cup that year, Dom shed her usual easy good humor and morphed into what Maren called "a quidditch banshee." The Ravenclaw team found themselves out on the pitch nearly every night, going through hours of drills as Dom shouted herself hoarse.

"This is complete bullocks," Rose grumbled to Maren as they trudged back to Ravenclaw Tower one night, drenched in sweat and covered in mud. "The match isn't even for another four weeks! At this rate we're all going to drop dead before then from exhaustion."

"She must really want to win," Maren murmured, stifling a yawn with the sleeve of her robes.

"Our chances aren't even that bad," Rose grumbled as they turned the corner and started climbing up the stairs. "We beat Slytherin by eighty points," she said with a twinge of smugness (she had rubbed that victory in Al's face mercilessly). "And lost to Gryffindor by forty." She scowled at that (James and Roxanne had rubbed their victory in mercilessly, and Rose had found she didn't like being on the receiving end nearly as much). "And we crushed Hufflepuff by a hundred and sixty. And Gryffindor beat Slytherin by seventy and Hufflepuff by a hundred and ninety. So we'll need to beat them by at least forty points in order to win the cup."

"We can do that," Maren nodded. "If everyone plays at their best, and maybe if Gryffindor drops the quaffle a few times, it shouldn't be too difficult."

"I don't know," Rose sighed. "James and Roxie both get very competitive. And Fred, too. They're not going to give it up easily."

"Well could they maybe let on that they might take it easy on us?" Maren groaned, running a hand through her tangled ponytail and scowling. "Otherwise your cousin might actually end up killing me."

"Well if you die, I will too," Rose said, patting Maren on the shoulder. "At least we can be buried together."

They didn't die, but as May arrived and the three-hour-a-night practices continued, Rose almost wished she could avada herself just to escape Dom's tyranny. The entire team seemed to share this sentiment.

"I think I've broken a rib," Henry Winkle muttered, lowering himself gingerly to the changing room floor and rubbing his side. "That bloody practice bludger came out of nowhere and hit me—I didn't want to ask Dom if I could go to the hospital wing."

"Why don't you go now?" Katrina DeMarco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't move right now," Henry groaned. "I'm gonna lay here for a bit."

"I think we're all beat," Maren sighed. She sat next to Rose and was currently sporting a large bruise on the left side of her face from where she'd accidentally flown into one of the hoops. "Honestly, I don't know how many more of these practices I can take."

"We'll make it through," Lysander said, though without much zeal. He shook his blond hair off his face and smiled sympathetically.

"Ugh." Rose put a hand to her forehead to try and wipe away some of the sweat but felt only a large lump. Oh, yes, that would be where Katrina had managed to hit her in the face with the quaffle earlier. She prodded it with her finger and winced. That was going to bruise.

"How're you holding up, Malfoy?" Henry asked, looking towards the blond boy who sat silently in the corner.

"Not bad," Scorpius shrugged. "Though I think my arm might fall off before the match from all the drills she's been putting us through."

"Me too," Maren nodded. "I couldn't even lift the pumpkin juice this morning at breakfast, my arm hurt too badly."

"Me either," Katrina added with a frown. "I've been levitating everything for the last week."

Maren stared at Katrina and smacked a hand to her forehead. "That's bloody brilliant," she cried. "Why didn't I think of it sooner?"

Katrina chuckled and shook her head. "You've got a lot to learn, you two," she glanced at Maren and Scorpius. "The number one rule when training is to do as little work as possible whenever you're off the pitch."

"I'll make Nathan carry all my books for me, I think," Scorpius said with a small smile.

"And I'll make Allie carry mine," Maren chuckled.

"No, don't do that," Scorpius shook his head. He glanced up at Maren and gave her a rueful grin. "She'll ask me to carry them for her."

"Of course," Maren snorted. "I suppose I'll have to have Lucy carry them then."

"I think she'd tell you to carry your own books," Rose said, giggling at the thought of Lucy meandering around the castle, overloaded with other people's things.

"Well it's worth a try," Maren shrugged. "Though," she frowned thoughtfully, "you don't think she'd hex me, do you?"

"Lucy? Nah," Rose waved airily. "She'll just give you her disappointed look."

"I do hate the disappointed look."

"She learned it from Uncle Percy," Rose said solemnly. "It's the worst."

"Well," Henry Winkle broke in, slowly getting to his feet, "I s'pose we'd best be getting back to the castle. I know I have loads of work to do still." He made a face.

"Me too," Ly rose as well. "I'll see you lot tomorrow."

"I suppose we should go in as well," Maren sighed, tapping Rose on the shoulder as she stood up. "Even if we don't have much work. It's getting dark."

"I don't want to go in yet," Rose pouted and crossed her arms.

"Come on, Rose," Maren groaned, taking her arm and trying to force her up. "We're not staying here by ourselves."

"Why not?" Rose demanded. "We can take a fly around the pitch, just for fun, without anyone yelling at us."

"I don't want to walk back to the castle in the dark," Maren said.

"It won't be that dark!" Rose stood up and looked around. Lysander and Henry had already left and Katrina DeMarco stood near the door, chatting with Scorpius. "I don't see why we can't fly for just ten minutes—"

"Because I don't fancy walking back to the castle in the dark and possibly getting attacked by something," Maren said in a tired voice. "And anyways, I don't know why on earth you would want to do more flying right now, of all things."

"It's fun."

"Well we're going to be on our brooms for hours again tomorrow."

"Fine," Rose rolled her eyes. "We'll go back to the castle."

They walked to the door of the changing room, where Katrina was just leaving and Scorpius was tying his shoes.

"Wanna walk back with us, Scorp?" Maren asked, pausing near the doorway and smiling.

"Er," Scorpius glanced up, his eyes looking first to Maren and then to Rose. He hesitated and ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

Rose opened her mouth to tell him to get a move on it and decide; if they were to go back to the castle she'd like to get there quickly. But she quickly snapped her mouth shut and bit the inside of her cheek. She was tired and the last thing the Ravenclaw quidditch team needed right now was to have two of its players fighting. What was it that Aunt Ginny always said? Fighting within a team only leads to bad playing. Rose sighed. She supposed she ought to try to make nice with Scorpius, if only for the sake of quidditch. And Dom's sanity. And Rose's health, now that she thought of it. If she and Scorpius fought, Dom would go mental and the entire team might die at practice. Yes, she'd best make nice with him. She quickly rearranged her expression into a smile and said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, "Yes, you should walk back with us."

Scorpius didn't return her smile. His grey eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a frown. He straightened and glared at her. "Are you playing a joke on me?" he demanded. "Is that why you want me to walk back with you?"

"Er, no," she replied, taken aback by his hostility. "We just—"

"Are you trying to distract me while one of your cousins does something?"

"What? No, honest—"

"Because Albus and Lucy have told me how Fred and James like to do that," he continued, not even pausing to listen to Rose's sputters. "And Lucy said Fred's your favorite—"

"He's not! Well, he is, but that's not—"

"You know, Maren," Scorpius said coolly, cutting Rose off and turning away from her, "I expect this type of thing from _her_ ," he scowled at Rose. "But I didn't think you'd stoop that low."

"Scorpius, we're not playing a joke," Maren said levelly, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Well, I'd rather not take my chances, thank you," he said stiffly. And with that he stalked out of the changing room.

"What a prat!" Rose exploded as soon as Scorpius was out the door. "Why would he think—I was just trying to be nice and he just—what a twat!"

"Don't worry about it," Maren said, taking Rose by the shoulder and ushering her out the door. "Maybe he's had a bad day."

"We've all had a bad day and you don't see you or me shouting at anyone because they asked us to walk back to the castle," Rose snapped. She tossed her hair over her shoulder. She caught sight of a small figure with platinum blond hair, hunched over and walking a few hundred meters ahead of them towards the castle. The sight stirred Rose's anger and she ground her teeth. "Honestly, I don't know why he has to be so rude."

"Just ignore him," Maren replied evenly. "Outside of practice you don't have to see him much."

"Right," Rose muttered. "Just in class and at meals and anytime I want to see Allie—"

"You know what I mean," Maren smacked her on the arm.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, Rose too agitated to talk of anything else and Maren clearly tired of discussing the extreme prattishness of Scorpius Malfoy. When they walked into the common room, the first thing Rose saw was Scorpius seated at one of the tables, playing exploding snap with Allie, Lucy and Nathan. Allie looked up and saw Rose and Maren, waving them over and beaming. "Hello!" she chirped. "Scorpius was just talking about practice, you must be exhausted."

"We are," Maren sighed as she dropped into a nearby chair. "Dom's going mental."

"She does that sometimes," Lucy murmured vaguely, setting a smoking card down in the middle of the table. "You two want to play?"

"Of course," Maren answered quickly, leaning forward and peeking at Lucy's cards over her shoulder. "We'll just play as a team for this round, though, so you don't have to start all over."

Lucy nodded and turned to Rose. "How about you?"

Rose paused. She did love exploding snap. And she hadn't gotten to see her friends, much in the last few weeks, especially Nathan as he didn't come up to the tower often. She was about to say yes and sink into the seat beside Lucy when the set of steely grey eyes staring angrily at her made her reconsider. "No," she said loftily, straightening and sticking her chin out, "I think I'd rather go upstairs and read. I've not had much time to do that lately."

"Okay," Lucy shrugged, returning to her cards, which were smoking alarmingly now. "I'll see you when I come up."

"Me too," Maren chimed in.

"And me," Allie said. "Though you're quite sure you don't want to play? There's plenty of room. And we've barely seen you today."

"No," Rose said with a tight smile. "But thanks." She paused for another moment, her eyes flickering to each person in turn, resting on Scorpius. She raised an eyebrow and he stared back at her, unfazed. "Well, I'll see you lot at breakfast, goodnight," Rose turned on her heel abruptly and stalked to her dormitory where she flopped onto her bed and pulled out _Pride and Prejudice_. Although Dom had lost her mind over quidditch and Scorpius Malfoy was the biggest prat to walk the earth, reading about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett made Rose smile and her chest feel warm and light. At least books would always make her feel better, she thought.

The Victory Ball was scheduled for that weekend, as it was the first week of May, and Saturday night found Rose sitting in Dom's dormitory, watching her and Molly get ready for the dance.

"Are you excited?" Lucy asked from her perch next to Rose on Dom's bed.

"I suppose," Dom shrugged, her silver gown pooling on the floor as she bent down to slide on a shoe. "It sort of loses its novelty by seventh year, but the ball's always fun. And," she smirked at her cousins and waggled her eyebrows, "I'm going with Atticus Bilik."

"The head boy?' Rose raised her eyebrows and looked up. "He asked you?"

"It was very last minute," Dom said airily, now applying a coat of red lipstick. Her blonde hair, which had been magically straightened so it fell in flat sheets down her back, swung as she peered over her shoulder. "He and Vanessa Yelden broke up a few days ago and I was getting bored of Sean Gundermann, who was supposed to be my date—"

"Dom, you didn't ditch him, did you?" Lucy cried. "You said you liked him!"

"He was getting clingy," Dom shrugged. "And Atticus is so _fun_ and did you know he plays that muggle sport football in the summer? I've never seen a boy with such a nice bum—"

"Ack," Rose groaned, burying her face in the pillow. "Stop, stop!"

"You should be nicer to boys, Dominique," Lucy said solemnly. "What if you hurt someone's feelings?"

"They'll get over it," Dom shrugged. "And besides, that's why I make it a point never to get too involved. I like having options."

"Dom, honestly," Molly broke in, rolling her eyes as she twirled her wand around her brown hair. "Don't tell them things like that! You're a horrible influence." She shook her head and glanced in the mirror. Wavy strands fell from the wand and snaked around her thin shoulders, just grazing her collarbone. "You're going to corrupt them. You two," she glanced pointedly at Rose and Lucy, "don't follow Dom's example. She's terrible."

"I'm not terrible!" Dom exclaimed. "I just don't see the appeal of limiting myself to one potential Victory Ball date. And really, Mols, you know I don't have the time to have a proper relationship what with N.E.W.T.s and quidditch and the extra arithmancy practice—"

"Fine, fine," Molly said quickly, shaking her head. "It's your life. I'm just saying, I think everyone else in the family would prefer if those two would go about things in the more—traditional way."

"True," Dom nodded thoughtfully, eyeing Lucy and Rose as she fastened the clasp of her bracelet. "I don't want either of your parents coming after me if one of you gets into trouble."

Rose frowned. "Why would we be in tr—"

"We'd best be going, Dom," Molly said loudly, glancing at the clock on her nightstand. "We're meeting the boys in the Entrance Hall in ten minutes."

"Oh!" Dom jumped up and hastily sprayed a bit of perfume on her neck. "Okay, I'm ready." She and Molly looked at each other, both smiling slightly.

"This is our last ball together," Molly mused.

"Oh, hush," Dom waved a hand in Molly's direction. "You'll make me cry."

Rose watched her two cousins, Dom in her elegant silver sheath and red lipstick, Molly in her red tea-length dress and black pumps. "You both look beautiful," she said quietly, staring wide-eyed.

"Thank you, Rosie," Molly beamed.

"Dom, can you come back next year to help Luce and I get ready for our first Victory Ball?"

Dom sighed and smiled. "Maybe," she said. "I'm sure you'll both blow us away even if I can't come, though."

"Will you help us pick out our dresses at least?" Lucy asked, getting off the bed and walking towards her sister and cousin. "You know Rosie and I are rubbish at shopping for ourselves."

"I'm sure Vic and I can help," Dom laughed and started as she looked at the clock. "Oh dear, we're going to be late meeting the boys!"

In the Entrance Hall Dom and Molly found their dates and wandered off. Rose glanced around at the myriad of couples, all dressed up nicely and chatting. Rose said hello to Fred and his date, Chelsea Bones the Slytherin chaser, and then to James and his date, a friendly black haired Hufflepuff named Samantha Blackwell. When all the ball goers had drifted into the Great Hall Rose and Lucy scampered back to Ravenclaw Tower, whispering excitedly about the different dresses and trying to decide if James had been forced by a family member into slicking back his hair or if he had done so of his own volition.

The morning after the ball Rose walked down to breakfast with Maren, discussing the types of dresses they wanted to wear in the upcoming years when they could finally attend.

"I want to wear one of those long, sparkly ones like Dominique always wears," Maren nodded. "They always look grand."

"She says they're horribly uncomfortable sometimes," Rose murmured. "And what if it doesn't look right? I think I'd rather wear something like Katrina's, the rather simple dress in the pretty pink color."

"Pink would clash with your hair."

"Bullocks." Rose scowled and put a hand to her tangled red hair. "Dom wears pink all the time and she has red hair."

"She has blonde hair," Maren said. "With red tints in it. Your hair is just red."

Rose's frowned but didn't say anything. They sat down at the empty Ravenclaw table, snatching up several platters at once. Rose forgot about her irritation when she caught sight of the plate of muffins, tugging it towards herself enthusiastically.

"Looks like the whole school had a lie in this morning," Maren mused as she dumped a pile of eggs on her plate.

"They're up u'til two th'ty," Rose said through a mouthful of muffin.

"But the ball ends at midnight," Maren frowned.

Rose swallowed hastily and raised her eyebrows, making a show of looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "There's always a party after," she said, tossing a piece of hair over her shoulder. "James told me about it this summer. It switches common rooms every year, and people bring food from the kitchens and get firewhiskey and butterbeer from Hogsmeade and they start it right after the actual ball ends."

"Wow," Maren breathed. "So you—so do you think we'll be able to go next year?"

"I don't see why not," Rose shrugged and leaned back, taking another bite of her muffin. "My cu'in wi' be there."

They continued eating and talking about the possibility of going to a common room party next year until the post arrived. To Rose's surprise, Aslan flew in front of her with an envelope clamped in his beak.

"What've you got there?' she asked, taking the letter and stroking his beak. "I just heard from Mum two days ago, she doesn't usually write back this quickly."

"At least it's not a howler," Maren grinned. "Remember the one—"

"Shut it," Rose smacked her on the shoulder and rolled her eyes. "I don't need to be reminded." She hastily opened the envelope and took out the sheet of parchment, examining the untidy scrawl. "Why d'ya think my dad would want to—oh, Merlin," she groaned.

"What?" Maren peered over her shoulder.

Rose scanned the paragraph and then tossed it to her friend, leaning forward to rest her forehead against the table. "This is horrible," she moaned.

"Rosie," Maren read from the letter, doing a terrible impression of Rose's dad. "What is this I hear (from a very reliable source, mind you) about you going to Hogsmeade with a boy called Matthew Corner?" Maren let out a bark of laughter and grinned at Rose, who groaned again. "I haven't even met this bloke! And he's taking my daughter to Hogsmeade! You're much too young to have a boyfriend, I hope you know that, and I hope he knows that if he's trying any funny business with you then he will have me (and all your uncles) to answer to. Write back straight away and tell us what happened, your mum is just sick with worry over you going to Hogsmeade with strange boys. Love, Dad."

"Someone told him!" Rose wailed, knocking her head against the table. "One of my stupid cousins told him! I'm going to kill the lot of them."

"At least you didn't actually fancy Matthew," Maren snorted, setting the letter on the table and patting the back of Rose's head. "And it's nice to know that if he did try something that your dad would blast him to pieces."

"I'll never hear the end of this," Rose mumbled, shaking her head. "And who even-? Ugh."

"Don't worry," Maren said, barely concealing a chuckle. "It's not like your dad will actually do anything."

Rose merely groaned again.

"D'you have any idea who would have told him?" Maren asked. "He doesn't say, just mentions that it's a very credible source."

"I wouldn't put it past any of my cousins," Rose said to the table. "Except Lucy and Albus. And I guess Hugo and Lily are too young to consider it."

"That still leaves plenty of suspects, though," Maren shook her head.

"I'll just have to kill them all," Rose shook her head and snatched another muffin. "They'll b's'ry."

With the Victory Ball over there was nothing to distract the quidditch team from the undeniable Hell Dominique was putting them through. As the day of the final match drew closer, Rose was so exhausted from practice she hadn't touched Oliver Twist in over a week and had left her advanced runes translations undone. Her days consisted of classes, meals, and quidditch with little time for anything else. Dom, for her part, was barely seen off the pitch as she had taken to shutting herself up in her dormitory to study.

The day of the match arrived and Rose woke up feeling as though a flobberworm had taken up residence in her stomach. "I'm going to vomit," she greeted Maren at the breakfast table.

"Me too," Maren sighed, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "I'm only eating because Dom said she'd force feed me otherwise."

Rose nodded absently as she sat down and pulled the juice pitcher forward. "Part of me wants the match to never happen," she mused, "and part of me wants it to be over and done with already."

"At least we got a nice day for it," Maren said with a glance at the enchanted ceiling, which was a cheery blue with a smattering of grey clouds. "Not too sunny, but clear."

"Mhm," Rose muttered.

"Have you talked to any of your cousins today?"

"No," Rose cast a nervous glance at the Gryffindor table, where Fred and James sat with their heads together and Roxanne was shoving scones in her mouth. "I think I'll wait until after the match."

"Hey, Rosie," Lucy's voice chirped and Rose turned to see her cousin approaching, flanked by Nathan, Tommy, and Allie and Scorpius, who were holding hands. "How're you feeling?" Lucy asked as she slid into the seat beside Rose. "You look awfully pale."

"I'm fine," Rose muttered, hastily taking a bite of food.

"Scorpius has been terribly nervous all morning," Allie said quietly. "He said he doesn't think he can eat, isn't that right?"

"Don't tell them that," Scorpius grumbled, sitting down without looking at anyone. He poured a glass of water and speared a kipper off the platter. "We all need forget about our nerves. We'll play like dung otherwise."

"He's right," Rose nodded. "We've got to get ourselves prepared mentally." She glanced at Scorpius, expecting some sign of agreement, or at least civility. He simply continued chewing his breakfast, as though she hadn't spoken at all. Rose frowned but continued, tossing her head and turning to Maren. "Aunt Ginny always said that quidditch is more a mental sport than anything."

"Well, when we're on the pitch and about to get on our brooms I'll be perfect," Maren said. "I'm fine when I'm actually in the air playing. It's when I'm just sitting here thinking about it that I go a little mad."

"Me too," Rose sighed, her shoulders sagging as she picked up a scone. "I guess we'll just have to wait then."

They didn't have to wait long. Dom marched into the Great Hall approximately five minutes later, already in her quidditch robes, and instructed all her players to report to the changing rooms in fifteen minutes.

"You don't think she'll make us run drills before the match, do you?" Maren whispered to Rose as they traipsed across the grounds.

"No," Rose replied. "She wouldn't want to risk wearing us out, especially if there's a chance it could be a long match."

"So what d'you think she wants?"

"I dunno, she hasn't said anything to me about it."

"But you're her cousin. Don't you have some kind of, I dunno, family telepathy?"

Rose snorted. "Even if that existed, my family's too chaotic to ever have it work properly."

The rest of the team was already in the changing rooms when they arrived. Everyone nodded and waved before silently putting on their quidditch robes. Rose ran the tip of her index finger over the embroidered eagle on her chest, biting her lip as she drew a breath.

The robes were on. It was time to focus.

The door clanged shut and Rose glanced up to see Dominique facing her team, her back rigid and her lip caught between her teeth. "Today's the day," she said quietly, taking a step forward and swallowing audibly. "It's our last match of the year, my last chance to win the cup."

Rose's head swiveled round and she caught Maren's eye. They both raised their eyebrows and then turned back to Dom, who now stood in the middle of the team.

"I know I've been a bit mental the last couple weeks," Dom said, shaking her head and smiling ruefully. "And I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for not killing me. And for all your work this year. Really, as nutty as I've been I loved being captain."

"Well there's no one else we would let scream at us like that," Katrina DeMarco murmured, eliciting a dry chuckle from everyone.

Dom laughed and seemed to relax a little. "I really want to win today," she said, looking up. She turned and looked at everyone in turn, her eyes blazing. "We're good enough to beat Gryffindor, we really are. They've played incredible this year but we can beat them, I know we can."

There was a clipped cheer from Henry Winkle.

"But to do that we all need to play our best today," Dom said seriously. "Chasers, you need to maintain control of the quaffle as much as you can and be aggressive at the goal. I know Davies is a good keeper, but he's not infallible. And remember the plays we've worked on."

Rose felt Maren nod enthusiastically beside her and looked up to see Katrina giving Dom a smile and Scorpius nodding, though his eyes remained on the floor.

"Winkle, Scamander," Dom continued, turning towards the beaters, "don't let up. This match may very well come down to which team has the more aggressive and accurate beaters so I'm counting on you two to protect our team and do your best to weaken theirs. And try to keep the fouls to a minimum, yeah?"

"Always do," Henry said.

Dom smiled and took a step forward. "Rosie."

Rose glanced up and found herself face to face with her cousin. She stood up straight and nodded.

"I'm counting on you today," Dom said. "I know you've worked on a lot of maneuvers the last few weeks and I know you're excited but I need you to remember, the match isn't won by the team that can pull more tricks on their broom. It's won by the team that scores the most goals. So if it comes down to fancy flying and just saving the quaffle I need you to keep your head on and not try to do more than is necessary, alright? You're one of our best assets, we need you to be on your game today. Got it?"

"Got it," Rose nodded, biting back a smile.

"We've got to be on the pitch in a few minutes," Dom said, walking back towards the door and facing them all. "Everyone ready?" They nodded. Dom broke into a wide grin. "Let's do this."

Wind whipped Rose's face as she walked onto the pitch and the roar of students was deafening. She shouldered her broom and turned to Maren, whose face had gone slightly green.

"The whole school came out to watch," Maren said quietly, swiveling to look at the crowd.

"It's the final match," Rose attempted to shrug nonchalantly. "People are excited. And we're both going to play brilliantly so we may as well have an audience."

"Mhm," Maren hummed, biting her lip.

They approached the middle of the pitch, where Mr. Wood waited. Rose peered around him and saw the scarlet clad Gryffindor team approaching. James and Fred were talking solemnly and Roxanne walked behind them, her thick black hair pulled into a tight plait and her mouth in a hard line.

"Blimey," Rose whispered to Maren, gesturing towards her cousin. "They must really want to win. Roxanne looks right terrifying."

"Oh no," Maren groaned. "She's scary enough to play against as it is."

"You'll be fine," Rose said quickly, putting a hand on Maren's arm. "She's rough but she doesn't play dirty or anything."

The two teams met on the pitch. James and Dom shook hands, both glaring at the other. Rose patted Maren on the back. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Ly Scamander leaned forward and giving Roxanne a small wave. Rose bit her lip and glanced at Roxanne, who was staring furiously at James and Dominique, her back rigid, either not noticing Ly or simply pretending not to. Rose furrowed her brow and looked away, though not before she saw Ly frown and slowly lower his arm to his side.

The players took their positions on the pitch. Rose watched nervously as Maren, Scorpius and Katrina stayed in the middle of the pitch with James, Roxanne and Shannon Warrington. She gave her teammates a fleeting thumbs up as she took her place in front of the goal posts. Across the pitch, she saw Alec Davies, the Gryffindor keeper, shout something to the Gryffindor seeker.

Rose glanced at Fred, who stood halfway down the pitch, bat in hand. He turned slightly and caught her eye. He grinned, mouthed something Rose didn't catch and then gave her a small wave just as Mr. Wood's whistle screamed and Rose kicked off the ground.

"Hello, all and welcome to the deciding match for the 2020 Hogwarts Inter-house Quidditch Cup!" River Jordan screamed from the commentator's podium, followed by a wave of cheers from the spectators. "Today's match-up is Gryffindor against Ravenclaw, or in other words, the battle of the Weasleys."

The words flew around Rose as she hovered in front of the hoops. She snorted at River's joke and then quickly shook her head, reprimanding herself for getting distracted. She had to focus.

"Shannon Warrington of Gryffindor with the quaffle," River said. "She passes to Roxanne Weasley, who streaks down the pitch—"

Rose watched Roxanne fly towards her. She gripped the handle of her broom and tracked her cousin. Scorpius approached Roxanne from the side and reached out, attempting to take the quaffle from her, but Roxanne swerved sharply to the side. She continued up the left side of the pitch, dodging a bludger Henry Winkle had sent towards her.

"Weasley continues towards the goal," River called out. "She dodges a second bludger, almost to the goal and—oh! Nice team work from the Ravenclaws there, as Weasley is hit by a bludger from Winkle and DeMarco takes possession of the quaffle!"

Rose let out a breath as Roxanne flew away, half relieved she didn't have to try and save the goal, half irritated she didn't get the chance.

River's commentary continued and Rose listened to it as she watched the action unfold in front of her. "DeMarco with the quaffle still—she passes to Malfoy—he swerves left and narrowly avoids Potter—he dodges a bludger sent by Weasley—passes to Thomas who flies low to the ground, interesting tactic there—"

Rose grinned as she watched Maren streak across the pitch, only six feet above the ground. It was a new play Dominique had them practice.

"Thomas approaches the goal but is still twenty feet below the hoops, what in the world is she doing?" River shouted. "She's going to run into it! What is Ravenclaw doing?! Ah—!"

There was a deafening roar as Maren suddenly shot upwards, the quaffle tucked under her elbow.

"Thomas appears out of nowhere and shoots! Davies reaches—Ravenclaw scores!"

Rose allowed herself to swell with pride briefly as Maren punched the air. She quickly refocused, though, as James took the quaffle and flew towards her. Rose clenched her jaw and watched him approach, River's screams fading into the background. James kept the quaffle tucked under his left arm as his right steered his broom. He flew in a straight line, much like Roxanne, ducking to avoid bludgers and Ravenclaw chasers. His eyes were focused on Rose. As he drew nearer Rose watched carefully, preparing to move suddenly in any direction. James' fingers flexed around the quaffle and his eyes darted first to the left, then to the right, before resting again on Rose. His left arm twitched and his right arm cocked slightly to the right, and just as he threw the quaffle, Rose dove towards the right hoop, her fingers closing around the ball.

"Blocked by Weasley!" River cried. "The score remains ten to zero in Ravenclaw's favor, though it is still very early."

Rose grinned and threw the quaffle to an oncoming Maren, who gave her a discreet thumbs up. They could win this.

Three hours later Rose was less optimistic. Although it was warm out, her fingers were nearly frozen around her broom handle from the wind and her left hand had cramped three times in the last forty five minutes. Wisps of hair had fallen out of her ponytail and now stuck to her sweaty face, obscuring her vision and tickling her nose. Her lips were chapped and she ran her tongue over them again as Roxanne flew towards her, carrying the quaffle.

"Weasley approaches goal," River said with much less zeal than she'd had at the beginning of the match. "She's blocked by Malfoy, oh! That was close!"

Rose sucked in a breath as a bludger nearly decapitated Roxanne, but her cousin managed to dodge it and keep the quaffle. James flew up beside her, shouting something and gesturing towards the quaffle. Roxanne ignored him, keeping her gaze on the goal.

"Potter seems to be shouting at Weasley," River said, the confusion evident in her voice. "Weasley ignores him, she flies to the left, Potter follows."

Rose watched, bewildered, as Roxanne flew around chasers and bludgers, refusing to give up the quaffle. She did like to score, Rose reflected, but she had never known Roxanne to so adamantly keep the quaffle in her possession.

Her musings came to a halt as Roxanne flew in front of Rose, pausing momentarily as her dark eyes wavered. Rose straightened and watched as her cousin cocked her arm, turned to the right, and breathed in. As Rose began to lean to the right she saw Roxanne straighten and throw the quaffle towards the center hoop. Rose dove back towards the hoop, her fingers grazing the quaffle, but it flew past her and through the hoop. The Gryffindor supporters cheered and Rose cursed inwardly.

"Weasley scores!" River cried. "That brings the score to 110 to 60 with Gryffindor in the lead. But it's still anyone's match."

Rose groaned and prayed that Dom would catch the snitch soon. She loved quidditch, but Merlin's bum she was exhausted. By her count she had saved forty nine goals during the match, maybe fifty if you counted the one time James had dropped the quaffle in front of her. And she'd let in eleven, which was the most she'd let in all year, but no match had been anywhere near this long. And Davies had let in six goals and saved thirty two, so he wasn't doing much better.

Rose leaned back on her broom and surveyed the pitch. Scorpius had taken the quaffle and was approaching the Gryffindor goal. She watched as he feinted left and then threw to the right. Davies missed and the quaffle soared through the hoop.

The crowd cheered and then there were several excited shouts. "It seems Dominique Weasley has seen the snitch!" River cried. Rose straightened and looked for Dom, spotting her at the edge of the pitch near the stands, hurtling towards the ground at breakneck speed.

"Go Dom!" Rose cried, waving frantically. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the Gryffindor seeker racing towards Dom, but before they had gotten even halfway across the pitch Dominique pulled out of her dive, her arm raised triumphantly with the golden snitch clasped in her hand.

"Dominique Weasley has caught the snitch!" River shouted. "Ravenclaw wins, 220 to 110!"

There were screams and groans but Rose didn't hear them. She descended quickly, a wide smile plastered on her face. As soon as her feet touched the ground she was engulfed in a hug by Katrina DeMarco, whose face shone as she shouted in Rose's ear "We won! We won! We've won the cup! We've won!"

Although she didn't remember moving her feet, Rose found herself across the pitch with the rest of the team, all hugging each other and grinning as the blue and bronze clad crowd cheered. Rose thought the muscles in her face were going to freeze from smiling so wide and she hugged all her teammates zealously, even giving Scorpius a quick squeeze. Ly Scamander came up to her and clapped her on the shoulder before pulling her in for a hug, yelling about what a splendid job she'd done.

When Ly had finished his exaltations and moved on to Maren, Dom emerged in front of Rose, her face pink and glistening with sweat, her blonde hair sticking out everywhere, and her eyes slightly manic. Without a word she flung her arms out and brought Rose into a crushing hug. "I can't believe it," she murmured, sounding as though she were about to cry. "We won the bloody cup!"

"We won the cup!" Rose responded, returning the embrace. "All because of you."

Dom let go of Rose and stepped back. Tears ran down her cheeks and she made no effort to hide them as she looked around the pitch and beamed. McGonagall, along with Flitwick and River Jordan, approached the team and handed the cup to Dom, who took one look at it and promptly dissolved into a torrent of tears.

"You reckon she's finally cracked?" Maren said quietly from behind Rose.

"Nah," Rose shook her head, watching Dom shake Aunt Minnie's hand and stoop to hug Professor Flitwick. "Dom's a bit mental when she goes after something, but when things work out the way she wants she gets as emotional as Aunt Fleur. I think it's a French thing."

"Well, as long as she doesn't make me cry."

"She'll stop eventually." Rose turned to her friend and beamed. "You played brilliant today, by the way."

"So did you," Maren threw an arm around Rose's shoulder. "That one handed save you made? It was beautiful. I wish I had a picture of it."

Dominique called the team over then, still holding the cup. Rose and Maren walked over, surrounded by the team, as Dom handed the cup to Henry Winkle. "Congratulations," she said. "We did it."

The party in the Ravenclaw common room that night was bigger than anything Rose had ever seen. There were tables of butterbeer and Honeydukes sweets set up by the windows and the furniture had been cleared away to make room for a sort of makeshift dance floor had been produced. Scores of people milled about. Half of them weren't even Ravenclaws. Some were Slytherins or Hufflepuffs who were celebrating the match, others seemed to have arrived just for the party. Even a few Gryffindors were there, though they were all rather quiet. Rose saw James and Fred walk through the door with a group of Hufflepuffs. Neither of them looked particularly happy, though Fred gave Rose a small smile when he saw her.

"Congrats on the win," he said, clapping her on the shoulder. "You played really well today."

"I'm sorry you didn't get the cup this year," Rose said, with as much sincerity as she could muster.

"We'll get it next year," Fred grimaced. "And if anyone else were to win it, I'm glad it was Ravenclaw."

"Thanks." Rose paused and then frowned. "What are you doing here, though? Shouldn't you be sulking somewhere?"

"Dom forced us," Fred responded. "Said the whole family had to come. Except for the younger ones, of course."

"Oh," Rose nodded, trying and failing to hide her delight at no longer being included in "the younger ones." "Right."

As it was (though she wouldn't tell anyone for a million galleons) third years technically weren't allowed at the party. But Dom had made an exception for Rose, Maren and Scorpius seeing as they were on the team. And when they were permitted to stay Lucy and Allie insisted on staying. And so Dom, grumbling wildly about bloody whiners and school policies, acquiesced and said third years were welcome. "Though if any of you breathe a word to your siblings or parents I will hex you into last week," she glared.

Even Dom's threat couldn't penetrate the cloak of joy surrounding Rose, though. She drank butterbeer, danced with Maren and Lucy, and reenacted some of her more dramatic saves from the match for an enthusiastic, if slightly inebriated crowd. As the night grew older and the partygoers became rowdier, Rose and Lucy made their way to one of the couches that had been pushed to the side of the room.

"This has been the best day of my life," Rose murmured, leaning her head back and grinning. "I don't want it to end."

"Heya there, cousins," a voice chimed. Rose turned and saw James swaying towards them, a half full glass of firewhiskey in his hands. He dropped onto the couch beside Rose, slopping a bit of his drink on her. "Oopsie," he laughed, dabbing at her shoulder clumsily with his sleeve.

Rose shrugged away from him, her lip curling. "You reek," she said.

"It's the smell of adventure," James grinned, leaning closer to her and holding the glass in front of her face. "You'd best get used to that smell, Rosie, if you want to keep going to common room parties. You've never tried it though, have you? Y'know I reckon Rox and I were about your age when we first tried firewhiskey."

"Where is Roxanne?" Lucy asked suddenly, sitting up and scanning the room. "I haven't seen her."

"She isn't still horribly upset about the match, is she?" Rose asked, turning to James. "I knew you all would be unhappy you lost but—"

"Ah, nah," James waved a hand. "No, no, Roxy is okay. Well—no—" he paused and frowned, running a hand through his hair and leaning forward. "I—she's angry w'me, you see."

"What did you do?" Rose raised her eyebrows. James and Roxanne rarely fought. In fact, they were nearly as close as Rose and Fred.

"Played a prank," James murmured, leaning back heavily against the couch and bumping into Rose. "With her and Ly—lysamander."

"What—"

"Told him she'd giv'n him—giv'n him love potions, y'see."

"James Sirius!" Lucy gasped, sitting straight up and gaping at him. "You didn't!"

"Thought it'd be a right laugh," James mumbled, turning away from Lucy and burying his face in the cushions. "Ev'n pu' em—emp'y bottles in her bag—"

"James, that's horrible!" Lucy cried.

"An' now she won'—won' talk to me—wouldn't ev'n pass the fucking quaffle—"

"Oh," Rose nodded in understanding. "That's what that was about."

"She cost us the bloody cup!" James suddenly shouted, attempting to sit up. "If she'd've passed it—"

"James, that was a mean prank," Lucy said, leaning forward and staring at him, the corners of her mouth tugging down. She swept a strand of hair off her shoulder and sighed. "Honestly, I don't know how you expected her to react."

"Yeah, well, maybe 'ou can talk to her," James murmured.

"Hmph," Lucy crossed her arms. "I don't think I really want to sit here with you anymore. You're drunk and were terribly mean to Roxanne."

"Fine—go—shoo—" James waved her away, collapsing backwards. He rolled his head so he was facing Rose, who just snorted. "Rosie?"

"Yeah?" Rose cocked her head, still thinking over what James had just said. Poor Roxanne, that really was a rotten prank. But she'd get over it, Rose thought. And anyways, Rose couldn't help but add to herself, with just the tiniest bit of bitterness, Roxy and Ly were _best friends_. They were wonderful together. They would be just fine.

"You're one o' my fav'rite cousins," James slurred, still facing Rose. A wide grin graced his features.

Rose laughed, leaning forward and nudging James in the shoulder. "Thanks. You're one of my favorites too, even though you're a prat."

James snorted and looked down at his glass. "Do you want to try some?" he asked, holding the firewhiskey towards Rose. "You're old enough."

Rose stared at the glass and the amber liquid inside it. She couldn't help but flush with pride at the fact that her older cousins were beginning to look at her as more than just a little kid or someone to look after. She was beginning to be treated like one of the big kids, like their equal.

"Y'don' have to," James shook his head. "Just thought ya might wanna try."

"Okay." Rose nodded and reached out. James looked faintly surprised but didn't do anything other than to hand her the glass. Rose took it and held it to her lips, taking a deep breath. The warm, spicy scent reminded her of Uncle Harry. She opened her mouth and took a large gulp of the drink and had to fight not to immediately spit it out. The liquid burned her mouth, her throat, all the way down to her stomach, where it felt like flames were licking her.

"Gah," she grimaced and shook her head. "That's ghastly, James, how can you drink that?"

"It gets better as you drink," James muttered, his voice muffled by the cushions. "Jus' sip it."

Rose swallowed and took a deep breath and then took another, smaller, drink. This one burned too, though not nearly as bad as the first had. Rose sat on the couch, getting jostled every few minutes as James attempted to reposition himself, and sipped the firewhiskey. She'd drunk less than half the glass before her head began to feel fuzzy and her chest felt as if it were being hugged from the inside and all the tension seeped out of her shoulders. She leaned against the couch and took another drink, coughing slightly and cringing at the sensation still.

"Y'like it?" James asked.

"It's disgusting," Rose answered. "But it's okay." James didn't answer. Rose began to survey the room, swaying a bit against the couch as the music played. Lucy had disappeared. Maren, butterbeer in hand, was on the dance floor with Henry Winkle and Katrina DeMarco. Molly stood by the door with a gaggle of other sixth years. In a far corner, Rose caught a swish of blonde hair and saw Dom wrapped around Atticus Bilik, kissing fiercely. Rose wondered vaguely where Lysander might be and scanned the room, disappointment descending when she didn't spot him. But of course, she realized, if Roxanne wasn't here he probably wasn't either. Even though it was his bloody party, seeing as he was on the quidditch team.

She continued looking around the room, giggling to herself when she spotted Fred attempting a ridiculous dance move. When her gaze swept to the cluster of armchairs near the dance floor, however, Rose's mood soured and she felt the flames dancing inside her chest and stomach flare up. Scorpius and Allie were squeezed in one of the chairs, attached at the mouth and utterly oblivious to everything else. Scorpius had his hands on Allie's shoulders, while Allie's were clasped around the back of his neck. They looked oddly out of place, especially next to other snogging couples. They weren't wrapped around each other, but sitting next to each other and simply turned at an awkward angle. And they didn't seem to be snogging quite so enthusiastically as others. They were simply sitting in the same armchair, in an odd sort of innocent embrace, kissing as people tended to do when they were going out or dating or whatever it was they were doing.

Rose felt sick. Where did they get off, doing that in the middle of the common room, for the whole world to see? Never mind that it was a party, never mind they were surrounded by couples. Why did they get to do that? Why did they get to sit in an armchair, too wrapped up in each other to even take notice of anyone else, while Rose sat a couch with her inebriated cousin, searching the room for Ly Scamander who was probably off somewhere snogging Roxanne?

It wasn't fair, Rose scowled and took another drink of firewhiskey. It wasn't bloody fair. She narrowed her eyes and watched Allie and Scorpius. They both looked content. And how was it bloody fair that Allie had a boyfriend to kiss her when all Rose had was Matthew Corner, who she didn't even like, and his wet unwanted kiss? Irritation flared through Rose's chest as she remembered that horrible scene in Hogsmeade. She tore her eyes away from the couple, looking around the room once again, and remembered Allie's impertinent comment about kissing getting better with practice. Ugh.

The couch cushions shifted and Rose turned to see James heaving himself up, blinking at the scene in front of him. "I'm jus—" he mumbled to nobody in particular before stumbling towards the window. Rose sighed and decided it was time she got up too. Still clutching the glass of firewhiskey, she got slowly to her feet, pausing as the world seemed to spin around her.

"Woah there," someone said, taking her by the elbow and guiding her back down to the couch. "You okay?"

"Fine," Rose said, turning towards the tall, dark haired boy who was swimming in her vision. The boy sat beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, leaning forward.

"You sure?" he asked. His dark eyes crinkled as he examined her face closely. "You didn't look too steady."

"I'm alright," Rose shrugged, squinting at the boy. He looked vaguely familiar. Had they met?

"You're Rose, right?"

"What?" She blinked rapidly and leaned back. "Er, yeah. Rose Weasley."

"That's what I thought," he nodded, giving her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I know I ought to have remembered. I'm rubbish at names, especially if I've had a bit to drink."

"You—sorry?" she stammered. "Er—what's your name?"

"Theo," his smile grew wider. "Roxanne introduced us at the Three Broomsticks a bit ago. Glad to know I'm not the only one who's rubbish at names."

"I'm not rubbish at them," Rose grumbled, feeling her face grow warm. "I just—"

"It's fine," Theo chuckled, leaning back and turning so he was facing her. "You played really well today. Though I suppose everyone's probably told you that."

"Oh—er—" Rose opened and closed her mouth. "Yeah, everyone has told me that."

Theo nodded but didn't respond and they sat in silence for a moment. Rose turned her attention back to the party. Maren was sitting by the door with Katrina, their arms around each other's shoulders, singing an old pub song. Molly had disappeared, as had Fred. Scorpius and Allie were still sitting in that stupid armchair.

"Have you ever kissed someone?" Rose blurted out.

"Er—what?" Theo raised his eyebrows. "Have I—"

"Kissed someone," Rose said, the fire in her chest raging. She felt slightly ill. She swayed a bit, feeling the couch swim beneath her.

"Well, yes," Theo said slowly, giving her an odd look. "I have."

"Was it nice?"

"I suppose."

"That's not a real answer."

"It's not?"

"No." Rose frowned at him. "It's either nice or it's not."

"Oh," Theo thought for a moment. "Then yes, I suppose it was nice."

"Hmph." Rose grumbled. "Everyone has nice kisses except me."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." She bit her lip. Flames licked her stomach and rose up to her throat. The warmth felt good. "Theo?"

"Hm—?"

Before he could finish his reply Rose leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. They weren't wet like Matthew Corner's had been, thank Merlin. But he didn't move, didn't move towards her or kiss her back or anything. He just sat there. Rose pulled away quickly, the heat spreading to her face as she berated herself. Of all the stupid things—

"I'm sorry—"

He cut her off then, putting a hand on the back of her neck and pulling her towards him, kissing her on the mouth. It still wasn't the romantic thrill like kisses in books, but it was nice. Theo moved his mouth a bit and clumsily tangled his fingers in her wild hair. Rose closed her eyes and leaned closer. Maybe Allie was onto something.

Her musings were abruptly silenced, however, when something took her by the shoulder and yanked her backwards, away from Theo.

" _Oy!"_ Fred glared down at Rose, his face twisted into a scowl.

"Er," she moved quickly away from Theo. "Hi, Freddie."

"Rosie," Fred said tightly. "Vance," he glared at Theo, who grinned sheepishly. "What the fuck was that?"

"Shh!" Rose hissed, leaning back against the couch cushions and snatching her glass of firewhiskey. "Don't shout."

Fred's gaze shot from Rose to the glass in her hand and his eyes widened as his mouth fell open. "Is that—who in the name of Merlin's hairy—" He trailed off, then abruptly turned and shouted, " _Vance, you got my thirteen year old cousin drunk and snogged her?_ "

"He didn't—"

"What's going on?" Dom appeared, her hair a bit mussed and her cheeks flushed but otherwise looking just as she always did. Except now she was staring at Fred. "Why are you yelling?"

"I came over here and found Rose—our Rosie—snogging the pants off that bloke—"

"We weren't snogging, just kissing!"

"And look what she's got!" Fred pointed to the glass in Rose's hand.

" _Is that—_ " Dom said testily, her eyes narrowing as she looked from the glass to Rose, who was doing her best to sit up straight and not sway.

"James gave it to me," she muttered, looking between her cousins. "And I'm not pissed, honestly."

Dom closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples, as Aunt Fleur did when Grandma Molly played Celestina Warbeck. "Where is he?" she asked in a dangerous voice, looking at Fred.

"Over there," Fred said, pointing towards the dance floor where James was attempting to teach someone how to properly do the tango.

" _James Sirius Potter!_ " Dom screeched, striding across the common room. James froze, looking like a frightened deer, and watched his cousin descend upon him, screaming. " _What the bloody hell were you thinking, giving Rose firewhiskey? She is thirteen! Honestly, how stupid can you be?!_ " James had the decency to look somewhat ashamed, mumbling about just wanting everyone to have a good time. When Dom had shouted herself hoarse, or simply run out of synonyms for stupid, she stomped away from the dance floor. "Come on, Rosie," she said, taking Rose by the arm. "It's time for you to go to bed."

Rose didn't say anything. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Theo rise from the couch, looking rather flustered. Beside the couch Fred still looked as though he wanted to hit someone.

They reached the dormitory and Rose changed into her pajamas and climbed in bed. Dom conjured a glass of water and handed it to her. "Drink it," she said.

Rose obeyed and drank the glass quickly. When she finished Dom refilled it and set it on her nightstand. "That's for the morning," she said.

Rose nodded, snuggling into her sheets. "I'm sorry I drank firewhiskey," she mumbled to her pillow.

A dip in the mattress told her Dom had sat down beside her. Gentle fingers ran through her curls. "We're not angry at you," Dom said. "Just at James for being stupid enough to offer his thirteen year old cousin firewhiskey."

Rose bit her lip. No matter what, it seemed, everyone still just looked at her as a little kid. Someone who needed to be looked after, who wasn't old enough to kiss a nice boy or drink firewhiskey.

"Why aren't I allowed to kiss him?"

Dom's fingers paused, midway through Rose's hair. "Nobody said you're not allowed to kiss that Vance boy, Rosie," she said at last, pulling her fingers through the knots again. "I think Fred just panicked and overreacted. He thinks of you like a second little sister, you know."

"He lets Roxy kiss Lysander," Rose pouted.

"Not very willingly," Dom laughed. "And that's a bit different. We all know Ly. We all like Ly. We don't know Vance very well. But I think it's mostly that we all still think of you as our little cousin."

"Well I'm not little anymore."

"No," Dom said softly. "No, I suppose you're not."

They sat there for a moment longer, with Dom's fingers raking through Rose's hair and Rose's breathing evening out. At last Dom stood up, saying it was about time she sent everyone to bed.

"Goodnight," Rose murmured as Dom opened the door to leave.

"Goodnight," Dom replied. "And Rosie?"

"Hm?"

"Maybe next time kiss Theo Vance in a more private place, yeah? I have a list of the best broom closets if you need it."

The rest of the year flew by after that. Rose, to her indignation, found herself studying hard for potions in a last ditch effort to reclaim the top spot. Roxanne, who still refused to speak to James, joined her in the library often, always bringing along Theo Vance and making thinly veiled comments. In these instances Rose rather wished a bludger had decapitated her cousin during the quidditch final.

Exams came and went. Nobody saw Dominique for six days straight as she was so busy studying for N.E.W.T.s. Molly nearly got a search party together before Dom emerged from her dormitory, haggard and sleepless, rambling about magical properties of the number thirteen and the different ways to break numerical enchantments.

At last the cousins found themselves on the Hogwarts Express. They had split into two compartments that year, as between the cousins and their friends there were simply too many people to cram into one. It was no less crowded, however. Rose sat squeezed between Lucy and Theo, who Roxanne had pushed next to Rose. Next to the window sat Albus and across from him was Nathan. On the other side of Theo was Maren and next to Nathan were Roxanne, Lysander and Lorcan.

"Didn't you want to spend the train ride with Scorpius and Tommy?" Lucy asked Nathan, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"Nah," Nathan shrugged. "I'll see them nearly every day over the holidays. And it's probably better Scorpius and Allie spend the ride together since they won't see each other much. And I think Tommy wanted to sit with some Hufflepuffs he's friends with."

"Alright," Lucy nodded.

They chattered about their plans for the holidays and the different quidditch matches they hoped to attend. Rose sat up straight the entire ride and didn't talk as loudly as usual. She was uncomfortably aware of Theo sitting next to her, his shoulder occasionally bumping into hers. Every time she thought back to her actions after the quidditch final Rose couldn't help but blush. But then, she supposed there were worse boys to have kissed. Theo was nice. And he wasn't unattractive, with his dark hair and dark eyes. As the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross, Theo put a hand tentatively on Rose's elbow.

"So—er—would you like to write over the summer?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "Not-not anything special, you know. Just, I suppose we'll see a bit of each other because of Roxy, and it'd be nice if we were friends as well, don't you think?"

"Erm," Rose bit her lip and paused before nodding slowly, looking up to meet Theo's eye. "Yeah, okay. That would be good."

"Brill," he grinned, releasing her arm and reaching up to grab his trunk. "Well, I'll write you soon then, Rose," he waved and turned to join the mass of students exiting the train. "Have a nice summer."

* * *

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays! And I hope you like this chapter. Rose & co. are all growing up *sigh* and with this chapter, the rating on the story will also go up. As always, thank you for reading and please review!


	15. Chapter 15 part one

June 22

Rosie,

I can't believe your parents surprised you with a holiday to New York City. Are you sure your mum didn't mention it beforehand? It sounds like it will be a splendid trip, I know my dad is jealous. He's been going on for ages about how much he'd like to go to New York. Write often, will you? With you gone I'm going to be horribly bored. And my dad's trying to get me to go into work with him. Blah.

Lots of love,

Lucy

June 23

Hiya Luce!

I'm absolutely sure my mum never mentioned this. She was just as excited by the fact that she and Dad managed to keep it a secret as she was about the trip. New York is splendid. It's just so exciting, not nearly as grey and rainy as London always is. I'd be perfectly happy to spend the three weeks just walking along the streets and watching the people. Americans are awfully interesting to watch, especially the muggles. I think Mum's going to force us to go on a tour of MACUSA soon, though, which sounds unbearably dull. Even duller than going to work with your dad. If you get too bored you can ask Molly to apparate you to my house so you can take some of my books and read. And I'll be back soon. It's just two weeks.

Love,

Rose

p.s. have you written Nathan yet? You did promise.

June 25

Rose,

Roxie just told me your family's on holiday in New York City, how exciting! I've never been but my dad has gone a few times and he says it's one of the best cities in the world. Anyways, he told me a few stories about my great grandfather Newt and some adventures he had in New York and I thought you might like to hear them. If anyone appreciates a good story it's you and this one is true so it'll be much better than that _Price and Patronus_ book that Rox says you're so barmy about. If you don't want to hear it, just say so, I won't be offended.

Happy hols!

Lysander

June 26

Ly,

I'd love to hear the stories about your great grandfather! And the book is called _Pride and Prejudice_ and I am _not_ barmy about it. It's just one of the greatest novels in the world.

Say hi to Roxie for me. 2

Rose

June 28

Rose,

Excellent, I asked my dad about the stories and wrote everything he said down so they should be accurate. It's not a terribly long story, I'm afraid, but it's exciting nonetheless. I trust you know my great grandfather Newt was a magizoologist and wrote _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , yeah? Well, apparently after he collected all those magical creatures in Europe he went to America so he could release one back in its natural habitat. Mind you this was in the 1920s. When he got to New York something happened (Dad said a niffler got loose and tried to rob a bank, but I think he might have made that part up) and all the creatures got loose. Picture dozens of magical creatures loose in muggle New York City. Dad said it must have been a right mess. And Newt had to find all them quickly otherwise they were going to chuck him in Azkaban. Americans are a bit wonky when it comes to the whole secrecy thing. Did you know they're not allowed to interact with muggles at all? Can't marry them or anything. I don't know how the wizards haven't died out yet. But, anyways, while trying to find the magical creatures guess what happened? I'm not entirely clear on the details and neither is my dad, but somehow Newt wound up coming face to face with Grindelwald. _The_ Grindelwald. Can you believe it? They dueled and everything!

That's pretty much it. If you'd like to hear more I can ask my dad for a bit more detail. And he said to tell you to go to a bakery at the corner of James St and Fourth Ave. I don't know why, but he said you'll enjoy it. Also, Roxie and Lorcan both said hello. Roxie said she'll write if she gets the chance.

Hope you're having a good time abroad!

Ly

June 28

Lucy,

Lysander wrote me and told me all about his great grandfather, who apparently released a load of magical creatures into muggle New York on accident and then dueled Grindelwald. I don't know whether it's all true or not. But he wrote me first. And he and Roxie are still together. Has James said any more about that prank? Is Roxie still angry with him?

Say hello to your family for me. Also did you end up taking some of my books? If yes then which ones? Tell your dad that my mum's making us take a tour of MACUSA tomorrow. She's the only one who's excited.

Can you ask Grandma Molly to send us some fudge?

Rose

June 28

Al,

I found a pygmy puff in a shop in New York that looks oddly like you. I attached a picture below.

Cheers,

Rose

June 29

That looks nothing like me. Also I hate you.

Al

June 29

It definitely does look like you. I almost bought it just so I could bring it back to England and prove it but my mum said no. Did you know there's an entire section of the New York Public Magical Library dedicated to your dad?

Rose

June 30

Rose,

I heard you're in New York and I'm angry with you for not taking me with you. I'm horribly bored. Come back now. I've spent the last five days in a row (FIVE!) watching this muggle program on the telly with my grandma. And now I'm getting invested in it! I'm turning into a seventy-year-old muggle woman. Save me. Write and tell me about all the adventures you're having in New York. Or talk about quidditch. I don't care, really, just please talk to me about something magical and exciting. Have you met any fit American wizards? Or fit American muggles? Has your family run into any dark wizards? Have you witnessed you parents duel anyone?

I think Lucy finally wrote to Nathan, thank Merlin. She won't tell me what they're talking about, although I doubt it's anything interesting. Either way you should ask her.

Write back soon or else I might go insane and then I'll be sent to St. Mungo's and you'll have to deal with Lucy and Allie and quidditch all by yourself at Hogwarts.

Maren

July 1

Maren,

Please don't go insane, I need you to be at school with me. Otherwise Lucy might kill me. Or I'll die during quidditch. Unfortunately there haven't been many adventures in New York. Yesterday my mum made us go on a tour of MACUSA which was as dull as it sounds. Think of a history of magic lesson except you're forced to walk. Apparently the Americans are a bit mad about staying separate from muggles. Ly mentioned something about it and at MACUSA they said they don't even have a Statute of Secrecy, wizards and witches just aren't allowed to interact with muggles at all. Strange, isn't it? Dad said that's why there's never been anyone like Voldemort over here though. But apparently in the 1600s muggles were completely barmy and tried burning witches, but ended up mostly burning other muggles. Also here they call them No-majs. The witch who lead the MACUSA tour gave us a funny look when we said muggle.

As far as American boys go I haven't found one yet. Even if I do I don't know that I'll be able to do anything. My parents are always with me and you know what my dad's like.

I asked my mum and she said when we go to the Burrow in August you can come stay for a week if you like, although we need to write Grandma Molly and ask her first. She never says no to friends staying over, though. And then we can play quidditch every day for a week.

I've attached a picture of a pygmy puff I found. Don't you agree it looks like Albus?

July 1

Lucy,

Maren said you've finally written Nathan. What did you say? What did he say? Duplicate the letters and send them.

Rose

July 2

Rose!

I'm so sorry I haven't written to you yet! It's been so busy at home, I've hardly had time to write anyone. Lucy said you're in New York, that sounds absolutely lovely! How do you like it? You're so lucky you get to visit America! We always just go to France, which is nice but it would be fun to go other places sometimes. I know that Scorpius and his family are going to Sweden and it sounds brilliant. Did I tell you that he wrote me the day after we arrived home and sent me a cute stuffed unicorn? It's so sweet.

I found a set of robes in Witch Weekly that I think would look splendid on you, I've sent a picture of them. Also there was an article in there about your cousin Dominique and an Egyptian prince. Is that true? It says he bought her a flying carpet! How romantic.

I hope your hols are going well and New York is as wonderful as it sounds. Ta,

Allie

July 2

Dad says he's not surprised there's a library section about him. Also he agrees that the pygmy puff does NOT look like me.

Will you buy me something from a street vendor while you're there?

Al

July 2

Rosie,

You're so horribly nosy. I'm not copying my personal correspondences for you to read. Honestly, you're worse than Maren and Molly. Those are letters between me and Nathan and none of you have a right to read them!

Lucy

July 3

Lucy,

I'm your cousin and best friend so I get to read the letters. I promise when I write to a boy I'll let you read everything. Also have you heard anything about Dom and an Egyptian prince? I don't get my copies of _Witch Weekly_ over here but Allie said there was an article about it.

I told Aslan to peck you until you duplicate and send the letters.

Rose

July 3

Allie,

New York is wonderful and I love it! I think I want to live here. France sounds lovely as well, though. At least you get to go to the beach and your parents don't force you to take tours of boring government buildings. I asked my mum for those robes, by the way, and she said she'd think about it. Do you think I could get them at Twilfit and Tattings? The silver sequins are stunning.

I hadn't heard about Dom but no one really hears from her since she's gone to Egypt. Apparently the training to become a cursebreaker is intense. I asked Lucy, though. I'll tell you what she said. Maybe if Dom marries an Egyptian prince we can all go to Egypt together!

Rose

July 3

Al,

Here's a shirt I bought from a street vendor (well, my dad bought it. He said he didn't want me talking to a man who sells shirts on the street for a living.) Hope you like it.

Rose

p.s. the pygmy puff still looks like you

July 3

Dom,

Is it true you're engaged to an Egyptian prince and he bought you a flying carpet? Allie said she saw something in _Witch Weekly_.

Rose

July 4

Rose,

The pygmy puff definitely looks like Albus.

Has Lucy said anything yet about her letters with Nathan? Maybe we ought to write him ourselves and ask.

I'm still watching muggle programs with my grandmother and today we got into an argument over whether Sylvia deserves Marcus's sympathy or not. I need to play a game of quidditch NOW. I'm considering asking my dad to play against me.

Maren

July 4

Rosie,

All I had to do was give Aslan an extra owl treat and he left me alone. I'm not showing you the letters. Aren't you supposed to be exploring New York City instead of harassing me?

I borrowed _Persuasion_ , by the way. I'll let you know what I think when I'm finished.

Lucy

July 4

Rose,

Hi, I know we said we'd write over the summer so I'm writing to you. I hope this isn't too weird. It's not, is it? If it is don't tell me. Or actually maybe you should tell me. Or just don't respond. Whatever works for you.

Your cousin said you're in New York. How do you like it? My family and I went to the states a few years ago, although we only spent a day in the city. After that we went to Colorado to visit my uncle. I just remember going to see the Empire State Building and wondering how on earth muggles built it without magic.

Ly said he wrote and told you all about his great grandfather. Isn't it strange to hear? I still don't know how much of it is true and how much he made up, but it's mad that someone related to Ly and Lorcan might have actually dueled Grindelwald.

Hope your holiday is going well. Feel free to tell me all about it.

Theo

July 5

Lucy,

My owl's a traitor. Why won't you show me the letters? I thought you loved me? I thought we were best friends? I thought I was one of your favorite cousins? And you lot took the mickey out of me when I went to Hogsmeade with Matthew Corner so I don't feel bad about harassing you now. And it's not even harassment it's harmless curiosity.

Send the letters or I'll ask James to find them.

 _Persuasion_ is excellent and if you don't like it I may never speak to you again.

Love,

Rose

July 5

Rose,

Of course I'm not engaged to an Egyptian prince that's ridiculous. I don't know where the tabloids get their stories. I simply went to dinner with one. He's quite fit. He and his father were visiting the Gringotts site and we got to talking. He did take me on a flying carpet and it was possibly the most fun I've ever had with a bloke.

If I ever want to get married I'll highly consider writing to him.

How's New York? Has you mum exploded from seeing MACUSA? Have you snogged an American bloke yet? If you do, mind you don't let your parents see. I don't like to think about what your dad would do.

Give my love to everyone. I'm hoping to come home and visit at the end of the summer.

Kisses,

Dom

July 6

Theo,

It's lovely to hear from you. This isn't too weird. Or maybe it is? I don't know. Can we not talk about it being weird?

New York is excellent. I love it here. I'd be quite happy to spend the entire summer here. We saw the Empire State Building as well and I had the exact same thought! I can't imagine how the muggles managed to build that! I mean, Mum said it's quite possible that they had help from wizards but considering the fact that muggles and wizards aren't even allowed to talk here, I don't think that would have happened. When you visited did you go all the way up to the top of the building? We did and it was amazing. You could see for miles. Mum was nervous Hugo or I would fall off, but nobody did.

Last night was especially fun. It was the American Independence Day and there were all sorts of celebrations going on. We saw a bit of the parade, but then Mum wanted to leave because it was too crowded. But everyone was excited and at night there were fireworks!

Ly did tell me the story about his great grandfather and it is a bit mad to think about. It'd be so exciting to run around the city searching for magical creatures, though, don't you think? And even to duel Grindelwald.

How are your holidays? Have you seen Roxie often? She hasn't written to me yet. What a prat.

Rose

July 7

Rose,

Let's compromise. I'll show you the letters when you come back from New York. Now stop trying to get Aslan to attack me.

I adore _Persuasion_. I'm almost finished with it.

And you deserved to be teased about your Hogsmeade trip with Matthew Corner.

Lucy

July 7

Maren,

We heard back from Grandma Molly today and she said of course you're invited to spend a week at the Burrow in August. Eek! I can't wait! We're going to read _Witch Weekly_ and play quidditch every day. Maybe Dom will visit while you're there too and she can play with us! Lucy can be the referee. I'll write Allie straight away and ask if she'd like to come as well. It can be a girls week. Although I'll have to make sure Al doesn't invite his friends for the same week. How dreadful would it be if Allie and Scorpius were there at the same time? What if they were at my grandmother's house snogging? No, I'd become ill and then the summer would be spoiled.

I saw a very fit American boy yesterday but my dad was walking next to me so I couldn't do anything. Maybe next time.

Also, Allie found these robes in _Witch Weekly_ and I think I'm going to get them when I come home? What do you think?

Rose

July 7

Allie,

Maren's coming to the Burrow for a week in August and it would be splendid if you could come as well so all four of us could be together! What do you think?

Rose

July 8

Rose,

Hey! I haven't heard from you all summer and Al said you're in America. How're your holidays going? I've heard from nearly everyone except you.

Nathan

July 9

Nathan,

My holidays are going well! My family's a bit irritating but I guess so is everyone's. I love the city. How are yours? I heard you and Lucy have been writing frequently. What are you two talking about? Also, are you going to be at the Burrow at all this summer? Maren is coming and Allie might come as well. We can all play quidditch!

Rose

July 9

Rose,

Oh, I wish I could join you at the Burrow but we'll be in France until the end of August! How disappointing, it would've been such fun. I think Scorpius is going there with Al this week. Or maybe they're going to Al's house. I don't know, but Scorpius is definitely going to visit Al for a week. He's been so sweet all summer. We went to Diagon Alley yesterday ( _alone!_ ) and he bought me ice cream. It's been a bit strange the last few weeks, since we're used to seeing each other every day at school. But we've written nearly every day. Of course, that will be harder when I'm in France and he's in Sweden but we'll manage. He's simply the greatest, don't you think?

Did you find about Dom and her Egyptian prince? I asked Scorpius to ask Albus but he didn't want to. Boys.

Anyways, I hope you're still enjoying New York!

Allie

July 9

Rose,

I've seen Rox a few times, though not terribly often. She and Ly spend an awful lot of time together now and I don't much enjoy being a third wheel. Once you come back you should go to Diagon Alley with us so I have someone to talk to.

My summer's going pretty well. My older brother came home from Germany to visit. He works for one of the broom companies over there. So I've mostly been hanging around home with him and my parents, which has been nice, although I'm starting to get a bit bored. He has his apparition license, though, so we've been able to go into London a few times and once he took me to a pub and bought me a beer.

I'm not sure I'd want to duel Grindelwald, but an adventure abroad would be rather exciting. Tell me if anything happens while you're there.

When do you come back again?

Theo

July 10

Allie,

Oh, I'm sorry you can't come. It would've been so fun to have all four of us there! I asked Dom and she said she only got dinner with the prince, but they're not engaged.

Have fun in France.

Rose

July 10

Rose,

Definitely buy the robes. They're gorgeous. Allie just wrote me and said she can't come to the Burrow, so it'll just be me, you and Lucy. And I heard from Lucy that Nathan and Scorpius are at Al's this week so they won't be there. Which means no snogging Allie and Scorpius (good) but also no snogging Lucy and Nathan (bad). Has she shown you the letters yet? I'm dying to know what they're saying to each other. Do you think he's confessed his love? Do you think she's confessed hers? Merlin, if she's been hiding that from us I'm going to avada her.

Speaking of that, though, guess what happened yesterday? I was in Diagon Alley with my dad and ran into your cousin Roxanne with the Scamanders and Theo Vance. And Theo kept asking me about you, he said you two have been writing? Have you really been writing a boy (a FIFTH year) and not told me anything about it?

I want answers, Weasley.

Maren

July 10

Luce,

The compromise sounds like a deal. Also, I've been writing to Theo. So we'll swap letters when I come home. Also, can you talk to Allie about Scorpius please? She keeps talking about him in her letters. I don't want to know any of it. If you talk to her about it she won't talk to me about it. And then I won't need to vomit.

I'll be home in two days so this may be the last letter. Give Aslan an extra treat, will you? I'm starting to run out and Mum won't buy more until we're home. She says they're too expensive here.

Rose

July 11

Theo,

I come home tomorrow! And I would love to go to Diagon Alley with you and Rox and everyone. We could bring a group and make a day of it.

Rose

July 11

Maren,

Theo and I are just writing. I don't think it's anything terribly exciting. I don't fancy him like I fancied Ly, but he's interesting to talk to. I told Lucy that when I come home we'll swap letters so she can read my letters with Theo and I'll read her letters with Nathan. I'm coming home tomorrow, do you want to go to Diagon Alley soon?

Rose

July 11

Rose,

Scorp and I are at Al's house this week (that's why I haven't written much, I've been distracted) so I probably won't come to the Burrow. And Scorp said Allie's going to France. Thank Merlin, maybe he won't talk about her as much then.

Lucy and I have just been writing a bit since we're friends and friends write each other over the summer. Why? Did she say something to you about it?

Nathan

July 11

Al,

I'm coming home tomorrow and I got you a lovely shirt. It has a picture of the pygmy puff on it. It'll be a late birthday present. Also, do you know if there's anything going on with Nathan and Lucy? I can't get anything out of either of them. If you don't know then ask Nathan, please. We'll talk about it more at the Burrow.

Rose

July 11

Ly,

We went to that bakery you mentioned and it was lovely. Are you sure it's run by a muggle family?

I'm coming home tomorrow. We should get a group of people and go to Diagon Alley. I feel like I haven't seen anyone in ages.

Tell Roxie she's a prat for not writing me.

Rose

* * *

A/N: I'll post part two tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed!


	16. Chapter 15 part two

"Hello!" Rose called as she stumbled out of the fireplace into the living room of the Burrow. "We're here!"

Footsteps echoed from above and a minute later Lucy and Maren ran into the room, enveloping Rose in hugs. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" Maren cried.

"You saw me three days ago," Rose wiggled out of the hug and brushed soot off her jeans. "And I've been home for over a week!"

"I saw you for about five seconds." Maren rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count."

"But you still saw me."

"But I'm used to seeing you lot every day!"

"Did you bring the letters?" Lucy cut in, gesturing towards Rose's bag. "Remember the compromise?"

"Yes I remember the bloody compromise," Rose scowled. "And I have them with me. Not that they're very interesting."

There was a _whoosh_ and the fireplace flared up again. Rose jumped forward just as Hugo appeared in the grate, sputtering and shaking his head. "I hate flooing," he muttered as he stepped into the living room, barely acknowledging the three girls. "I dunno why we can't just fly."

"Because we'd be seen," Rose said waspishly. "And I don't fancy trying to balance my bag on my broom."

Hugo simply shrugged. "Wotcher, Lucy," he said to his cousin. "Hi, Maren." They both murmured similar greetings as Hugo snatched his bag from the floor and ran towards the kitchen.

"So," Maren said eagerly, seizing Rose's upper arm and dragging her to the stairs. "Now that you're finally here what should we do? Quidditch? Go through the newest _Witch Weekly_?"

"How about read through the letters Nathan sent Lucy?" Rose suggested, waggling her eyebrows as they began to climb the stairs.

"You're going to be awfully disappointed," Lucy rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Seeing as there's nothing interesting in there."

"We'll be the judge of that," Rose said. "We should invite him to Diagon Alley. I told Ly and Theo we would all go together before going back to school."

"I'm sure you did," Lucy remarked dryly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means."

"No I don't. Tell me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, you know perfectly well what I meant and you're just trying to be obnoxious."

"I am not!"

"Are too."

"For Merlin's sake, shut up," Maren groaned. "We've only been together for five minutes and you're already arguing. Honestly, how are you two so close? How have you not killed each other yet?"

"There's always someone else around," Rose answered. "So there'd be a witness." She glanced over her shoulder at Lucy and grinned. "And I couldn't annoy you if you were dead."

"And if you died then James would force me to play in the family quidditch games," Lucy shuddered. "And as keeper, no less."

The girls made their way to Rose and Lucy's room and immediately sprawled out on the bed. "Alright, let's see then," Maren said, nodding towards Rose and Lucy.

"How come you don't have to show anything?" Rose demanded, frowning as she reached for her bag.

"Because I'm not writing any boys." Maren smirked. "Stop trying to distract us. Get the letters."

Rose rolled her eyes and yanked the stack of letters from her bag, tossing them onto the bed between Maren and Lucy. Maren snatched one from the top of the pile and hastily unfolded it, her dark eyes skimming over the page. "I think he fancies you," she announced, setting the letter aside.

"He doesn't," Rose snorted. Turning to Lucy, she held out an expectant hand. Lucy scowled but produced a stack of letters considerably larger than Rose's and handed it over.

"These are all between you and Nathan?" Rose asked, ogling the thick pile.

Lucy nodded but didn't respond.

Rose flopped backwards onto the mattress and picked up the first letter.

"Blimey, Luce, you two are practically engaged," she murmured nearly an hour later. They were still lying on the bed, though now covered by a blanket of opened letters. Rose tossed the last of them haphazardly to the side and rolled over to better see her cousin, whose face had turned a brilliant scarlet.

"They were all perfectly friendly," Lucy muttered to the pillow, not looking up. "I think you're making too much of it."

"Come off it," Maren scoffed, picking up a letter at random and grinning. "He asked if you fancied anyone in our year and if you wished you'd gone on a Hogsmeade date."

"Those are things friends ask."

"When those friends are other girls, yes," Maren laughed, leaning over and poking Lucy in the ribs. "But when it's a bloke it means he likes you."

"It does not!"

"Then why are you blushing?" Rose giggled, crawling closer to Lucy so they were face to face. "Because you know we're right? Because Nathan fancies you and you fancy him and you two are going to get married?"

"You're being ridiculous," Lucy grumbled, swatting Rose in the cheek.

"No, you're just in denial."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"No I'm not!"

"Here," Maren said, rolling her eyes. "There's a test. If he were to ask you to Hogsmeade, what would you say?"

"He wouldn't."

"But if he did?"

"It wouldn't happen."

"For Merlin's sake, Luce, just pretend he did. Would you say yes?"

"I don't know."

"That means yes," Maren said triumphantly, leaning back against the pillows and grinning. "You just don't want to say it."

"It would depend!" Lucy cried, sitting up. "Would we be going in a group? Because then I'd say no, since all you lot would do is take the mick out of us. Where would we go? The Three Broomsticks? Madam Puddifoot's? The joke shop? That has to be taken into consideration, don't you think? What if he wants to spend the whole day just us two? Then I'm not sure what I'd say. I wouldn't want to leave you two alone."

"I'm sure we could manage by ourselves," Rose said dryly, glancing at Maren and pressing her lips tightly together to keep from laughing.

"And anyways," Lucy plowed on, seeming to talk as much to herself as to them, "this is all hypothetical."

"Whatever you say, Luce," Rose shook her head.

"Well, girls," Maren said, stretching and glancing at the clock. "What do you say we find Al and James and see if they want to play a game of quidditch before it gets dark out? Lucy can be the ref."

Rose agreed readily. Lucy assented after Maren conceded that she could bring a book to read. They gathered their things and trooped down the stairs.

"Oh!" Rose cried when they were halfway down, almost crashing into Lucy as she turned and began running back to the room. "I forgot something!" She reappeared a few minutes later, grinning madly and holding what looked like a piece of cloth. "It's for Al," she said. "A t-shirt I bought him in New York." She unfolded the shirt and held it up so the other two could see what was printed on the front.

Maren let out a strangled choke of laughter. "Is that—?"

"It is," Rose crowed, nearly toppling over with glee.

"Er, am I missing something?" Lucy asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she stared at the shirt and then up at Rose. "Why did you get Al a t-shirt with a pygmy puff on it?"

"Because," Rose said, gesturing towards the image of the pygmy puff, "It looks like him. Don't you agree?"

Lucy eyed the shirt for a moment longer and then let out a shriek of laughter. "Oh—oh Merlin," she gasped. "It does!"

Rose chuckled and folded the shirt again. "I think he's going to love it."

The week passed pleasantly. As promised, Rose and Maren played quidditch nearly every day, sometimes accompanied by other family members, though often by themselves. To the disappointment of both girls, Dom wasn't able to visit while Maren was at the Burrow. When they weren't outside flying they spent hours upon hours inside, combing through _Witch Weekly_ , laughing over the absurd stories printed about Dom and her "Beau from the Nile" and taking quizzes such as _How Veela-worthy Are Your Flirting Skills?_ and _Are You More Celestina Warbeck or Gwenog Jones?_ The last day before Maren was to return home Rose awoke to someone poking her in the shoulder.

"G'way, Lily," she grumbled, turning over and nestling deeper into the pillow she and Maren were sharing.

"I'm not Lily, you dunghead," Roxanne laughed, poking Rose in the face. "And you have to get up, everyone's going to be here in an hour."

"Wha?"

"We're going to Diagon Alley today, remember?"

Rose's eyes flew open and she sat up, brushing hair from her face and wiping drool off her chin. "Oh, blimey, I forgot about that," she groaned. She glanced around, searching for the clock. "What time is it?"

"Five after ten," Roxanne said, her eyebrows raised. "Up late last night?"

"We were eating fudge and listening to the new song from The Stupefied."

Roxanne snorted. "Everyone's going to be here at eleven. And Theo's coming." She waggled her eyebrows. "He's mentioned that he's excited to see you."

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, turning to shake Maren and Lucy awake. "We'll be down in a few minutes."

By the time the door had closed behind Roxanne all three girls were out of bed and rummaging through the closet.

"I have nothing to wear," Lucy moaned, flipping through sundress after sundress.

"Wear the blue one Aunt Fleur got you," Rose said, picking out a slightly worn Chudley Cannons t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "That one looks really pretty on you."

"Do you think it's too—I don't know—fancy?" Lucy asked, tugging on the ends of her hair as she contemplated the dress in question, a sky blue, loose fitting t-shirt dress that Aunt Fleur had brought back from France at the beginning of the summer.

"No," Rose shook her head as she began changing. "You always look nice. No one will think anything of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Lucy, just wear the sodding dress. It'll look pretty."

They changed quickly, Rose into her t-shirt and jeans, Maren into a long purple tank top and leggings and Lucy into the blue dress.

Rose attempted to wrangle her hair into a ponytail and, after failing, turned beseechingly to Lucy who sighed and hastily twisted it into a tight plait. "Are you really wearing that old Cannons shirt?" she asked, eyeing Rose's outfit.

"Yes," Rose said, frowning at her cousin. "I like this shirt."

"But, Rosie, we're going to Diagon Alley."

"I know."

"Ly will be there."

"Yeah."

"And Theo."

"Okay?"

"Don't you want to look a little nicer?"

Rose shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I wear this all the time. And anyways, Ly's going out with Roxie and Theo's a friend."

"Whatever you say," Lucy sighed. "Now are you both ready to go? We don't want to keep them waiting."

An hour later Rose clambered out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. "Hi, Neville!" she called, waving towards the bar.

"Hiya, Rosie," Neville grinned, wiping his hands on a dish towel and walking over. His eyes widened as the fireplace glowed green again. "Is everyone coming?"

"Most of us," Rose shrugged. "We're meeting some friends at Florean Fortescue's."

"Sounds like a good day," Neville laughed. "Come find me or Hannah if you need anything, alright?"

"Okay."

When Lucy, Maren, Albus and Roxanne had arrived the group walked out into the street. The Scamanders and Theo Vance appeared, waving.

"Hey, you lot," Lysander said, throwing an arm around Roxanne and nodding to Rose, Maren, Lucy and Albus in turn.

"Hey, Ly," Rose murmured, giving him a small smile. "Having a good summer?"

"Not bad," Ly replied. "Haven't done too much but I suppose that's not a bad thing."

Rose nodded, unsure of what to say, and turned her gaze first to Lorcan, who was staing dreamily at something over her shoulder, and then to Theo, who smiled.

"Well, we're going to the joke shop," Roxanne said. "Dad's got some new merchandise and said we could have the first look."

"You can come if you'd like," Theo said, brushing a piece of hair from his forehead and nodding at Rose.

"We're meeting some friends at Florean's," Maren answered. "Maybe after."

Theo smiled and gave a small nod. "Alright. We'll come find you."

"Sounds good," Rose said easily, turning to Maren and gesturing towards the ice cream shop. "We should go meet Nathan then."

"Yes, we should," Lucy agreed, checking her watch and tugging on her hair. "We don't want him to think we forgot."

They split up, and minutes later Rose walked through the door of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where Nathan and Scorpius sat at a large table.

"Hullo," Nathan grinned, waving his spoon in greeting. "How're you lot doing?"

They ordered their ice cream and took their seats, with Maren elbowing Lucy into the chair beside Nathan and Rose sitting on her other side. "How's your summer going?" Rose asked through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Not bad," Nathan shrugged. "Just been playing quidditch with Scorp and sitting around the house. How about you? Did you like New York?"

"Loved it," Rose beamed. "It was marvelous."

"My dad says it's fun," Nathan nodded, sucking on the tip of his spoon. "And, Scorp, didn't you say you'd like to go there?"

"I did," Scorpius said without much enthusiasm.

"He was going on about this one muggle American writer," Nathan said to Rose in a stage whisper. "Something Fitzgerald and the Git Gatsby or whatever."

"Oh, you've read _The Great Gatsby_?" Rose asked, her head jerking up. She momentarily forgot her animosity toward Scorpius as he nodded, shrinking away from her as though worried she would bite him. Rose ignored this, rapidly asking questions. "What did you think of it? Did you like the narrator? I thought he was just dreadful, personally. And, honestly, I didn't think Gatsby was _that_ great, I mean, he loved Daisy but he was also a giant prat and wanted her to leave everything just for him. But Fitzgerald is fascinating, my mum read a biography on him and said he had a very tragic life. Did you know his wife was a witch? And she went insane from suppressing her magic?"

"No." Scorpius stared at her coldly, looking irritated by her questions. "I didn't know that."

"Well," Rose faltered, closing her mouth and biting her lip. She felt as though she had exposed herself too much, and now Scorpius was judging her horribly for it. She ground her teeth and straightened. Who gave him the right to look at her so disparagingly? Where did he get off? She tossed her hair over her shoulder and bit out, "Now you know, then."

Albus took the opportunity to hastily talk to Nathan about quidditch. Rose shook off her annoyance and grinned as Nathan puffed out his chest and announced, "I've decided to try out for the house team this year."

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Rose cried. "What position?"

"Keeper," Nathan answered, laughing when Rose's face fell slightly. "Belby left and I think I'll have a shot. So we might be playing against each other now."

"I'm sure you'll do great," Lucy said warmly.

Nathan grinned at her and then elbowed Scorpius in the side. "I'll just have to be careful if I do make the team. Scorp knows my weak spots."

"Well you know mine too," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "And yesterday you saved nearly every one of my shots."

"Your dad bewitched the quaffle for the last few, though."

Scorpius shrugged and ate a spoonful of ice cream. "But now I'll have to root against you when you play," he said. "We can't have you knocking Ravenclaw out of contention for the cup."

Nathan and Albus both snorted. "Slytherin's going to win it this year," Albus said.

"Sure about that?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"Definitely," Albus nodded enthusiastically. "Chelsea's coming back as captain and we only have to replace Belby and one of our chasers. We'll have a strong team."

"What about Gryffindor, though?" Rose asked. "With James and Fred and Roxie? And what if Lily tries out?"

"She won't." Albus frowned. "She only likes to play seeker and Kennedy Cutler is coming back."

"Well even without Lily, Gryffindor has a strong team," Rose reasoned. "If I were you I'd be more worried about them than Ravenclaw."

"I'm not falling for that," Albus rolled his eyes. "Really, Rosie, we're not just going to leave you guys alone—"

"I didn't say that, only that Gryffindor looks good—"

"And we're not thick we know how good you are—"

"James isn't going to lose!"

"Oy, shut up, both of you," Maren broke in, banging her spoon against the table.

"That's enough about quidditch," Lucy agreed, pushing her bowl away and crossing her legs.

"You're not a quidditch fan?" Nathan asked, leaning towards Lucy and grinning. "But I thought it ran in your family like the hair?"

"Er—well, not exactly," Lucy muttered, her face flaming up. "I don't dislike it exactly. It just—I don't really like flying, you see, I fell off my broom in first year and so I don't play. And you know it's rather difficult to love quidditch if you don't play—"

"I'm just taking the mick," Nathan cut her off, putting a hand on her shoulder. "As long as you cheer for us at matches, that's all that matters."

"Except when Ravenclaw plays Slytherin," Maren added, giving Nathan a pointed look. "Then you can only be cheering for me, Scorpius and Rose."

"Right," Lucy murmured, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "So," she turned to Scorpius with an overly bright smile. "Are you excited for muggle studies?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Although I don't like the technology unit as much."

"Oh, I think it's fascinating," Lucy breathed. "Learning about telephones and computers and GPS! I asked my Grandpa Arthur and he said he might be able to find a real microwave for me to look at."

"Really?" Scorpius' eyebrows shot up.

"Mhm," Lucy nodded. "He said we can take it apart and see how it works."

"Tell me how it is," Scorpius smiled. "I wish we were doing more on muggle culture and literature. My dad bought me loads of muggle books over the holiday."

Lucy responded excitedly and Rose leaned back in her chair, not paying attention to the conversation. She would have liked to talk to Scorpius about muggle books, too see if he had read any of the same ones she had and ask what he'd thought of them. But he refused to enter into any conversation with her, for whatever reason. Even about something as harmless as books. What a twat. Rose rolled her eyes and absently twirled a piece of hair around her finger, surveying the ice cream shop. The pastel counter glittered and a handful of other customers sat around the perimeter, eating ice cream and chatting. The door opened with a thud and Rose turned around to see Roxanne walk in with the Scamanders and Theo in tow.

"Hi, Roxie!" Rose shouted, waving her cousin over. "Come sit with us!"

"We just came to see what you lot were planning to do," Roxanne said, wandering over to the group. "We're going to Eyelops if anyone wants to come."

"I'll go with you." Rose jumped up.

"But, Rosie," Lucy protested.

Rose waved off her cousin and murmured, "I'll come right back."

"Great," Roxanne smirked. "We'll be back soon, Luce."

Hastily pushing her chair in, Rose followed them out of the ice cream shop and into the street. She felt a little guilty for leaving Lucy and Maren, but not having to bother with Scorpius was an enormous relief. They got halfway to the owl emporium when Roxanne came to a sudden halt.

"I think I dropped an earring in Florean's," she said, tugging on her earlobe.

Rose furrowed her brow. "Roxie, you don't even usually wear earrings."

"And this is why!" Roxanne looked around and then grabbed the two Scamanders by the forearm. "Come on, you two help me look for it."

Rose's eyes widened as she realized what her cousin was doing. "Roxie, I'll help you look!" she said quickly.

"No, no," Roxanne shook her head. "You two go on ahead. We'll meet you there."

"But—"

"Bye!"

Rose turned back to Theo, a flush creeping up her neck. "Well, she's, um—"

"She's a horrible liar," Theo shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I didn't ask her to do that, I swear," Rose muttered.

Theo snorted. "I didn't think you did." He glanced up at her and then quickly looked back at the ground. "But, er, it's rather lucky she left. I wanted to talk to you about—about something."

Rose bit the inside of her cheek and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, her face growing warmer with each passing moment. "Er, you did?"

"Yeah. I—well, we kissed." Theo said as though reciting a book passage. His hands were still in his pockets and his eyes were focused steadfastly on the cobblestone under his feet. Rose could make out a hint of a flush on the back of his neck. "That happened and I dunno—is it—is it weird?" He looked up suddenly and his dark eyes locked onto Rose's. "I know you said not to talk about it being weird, but is it weird? Because, Rose, if you want to pretend the kiss didn't happen, we can. I won't be offended or—or angry. I want us to be friends. I think you're fun to be around."

Rose raised her eyebrows. Her mouth twitched involuntarily into a smile as she took in what Theo was saying.

"You want to—you want to be friends?"

"Er—yeah. Unless," his eyes widened, "unless you wanted to do something else and then I don't know, I just thought—"

"No, no, this is perfect," Rose said quickly. "I—I'd like to be friends too. I think you're fun to be around."

Theo's shoulders relaxed and he exhaled. "Good," he smiled. "I didn't want anything to be—you know—awkward or anything. And I did mean what I said about forgetting about the kiss. You know, if it made things easier—"

Rose shrugged. "I don't see any reason to forget about it," she said. "After all," she returned the smile and let out a small giggle she hadn't been aware she was capable of, "it was a nice kiss."

"Er," Theo's face reddened and he glanced down again, though Rose could see the corners of his mouth curl upward. "Yeah, it was pretty nice, wasn't it?"

"Much better than my first one," Rose laughed.

"That wasn't your first kiss?"

"No. My first one was in Hogsmeade with Matthew Corner." Rose shuddered at the memory. "It was rather terrible."

Theo looked up and arched an eyebrow. "How terrible?"

"Terrible enough I was willing to snog a stranger in the common room with half my family there."

Theo laughed and straightened, one hand running through his hair. "That sounds like it was pretty terrible then. But the second one made up for it?"

"I suppose," Rose said loftily, smirking at him the way she had seen Dominique smirk at boys she'd snogged. "Although that's not really saying much, is it?"

"No, I guess not." Theo laughed again and then put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, we'd best get to Eyelops then. I don't want Roxanne thinking we were snogging behind the shop or something."

"No we don't want that," Rose agreed, shaking her head. "She'd probably run home and tell everyone."

"And I don't fancy getting yelled at by more of your cousins." Theo made a face. "I thought Fred was going to hex me that night in the common room."

"But he didn't," Rose pointed out. "Now come on," she broke out into a run and called over her shoulder, "if you don't want to duel my cousin we have to hurry!"

They made it to Eyelops before Roxanne, but that didn't stop her from smirking for the rest of the afternoon after Theo said he and Rose had "just talked" while alone.

Maren left the next day and the summer began to draw to a close. Rose spent a week sitting in the Burrow reading _Great Expectations_ and badgering Lucy to finish _Persuasion_. Occasionally Albus or Fred joined them and they went out into the orchard to play quidditch or simply get out of the house. Hogwarts letters arrived two weeks before they were to go back to school. Rose examined her book list and promptly handed it off to her mother, claiming the only interesting thing on it this year was the new ancient runes book.

It took approximately half an hour, though, before the adults made a fuss over the news that Molly had been chosen as Head Girl. At the sudden shouts Rose meandered downstairs and found Aunt Audrey and Aunt Fleur hugging Molly tightly.

"Oh, congratulations, darling," Aunt Audrey said, squeezing Molly tightly.

"Do you think Dad'll be happy?" Molly asked, her brown eyes bright.

Aunt Audrey smiled tightly and drew back. "Yes," she nodded, "he'll probably be beside himself. You know how seriously he takes things like this."

Uncle Percy was ecstatic, just as his wife predicted. When he walked into the kitchen after work and Molly told him the news he promptly dropped his briefcase and engulfed his oldest daughter in a hug, exclaiming that they had to have a party to celebrate.

"The cake's baking right now," Grandma Molly said.

"This is wonderful!" Uncle Percy cried, adjusting his hat which had nearly fallen off. Rose, standing in the doorway next to Lucy, had to work hard to suppress a giggle. Her uncle looked rather ridiculous. Uncle Percy didn't seem to notice, though, as he continued, "Mols is head girl and who knows, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if they made Lucy a prefect next year. Imagine," he whipped around to grin at Lucy, who appeared to be trying to smile but just looked like she had swallowed a slug. "If Lucy is a prefect then there's a possibility we could have two head girls in this family! _Two head girls_!"

Rose clapped Lucy on the shoulder and furrowed her brow at her cousin's expression.

"Yes, yes," Aunt Audrey said, taking Molly's arm and leading her out of the kitchen. "It's very exciting, but it isn't all that matters, girls." She gave Uncle Percy a pointed look. "We still expect you to do well in school and be kind and courteous to everyone, and we love you no matter what."

"But even more if you're Head Girl," Uncle Percy chortled, elbowing Lucy. She nodded and looked at the ground, her face growing red.

Uncle Percy wandered upstairs and Aunt Audrey went to find Aunt Fleur to help with dinner and Molly went to write her friends and tell them the news. Rose turned to Lucy, who was still staring at the floor and furiously biting her lip.

"Er," Rose muttered, wracking her brain for something to say. "That's exciting for Molly."

"Yeah," Lucy whispered, tugging at the end of her ponytail. "She deserves it."

Neither of them spoke for a moment and Rose fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

"Can we go upstairs?" Lucy asked, finally looking up. Her brown eyes were glistening. "I don't want to be down here when my dad comes down."

"Yeah—sure," Rose nodded quickly, turning toward the stairs. "Aunt Fleur gave me this week's copy of Witch Weekly, d'you wanna go through it? I think there's an article about who Dom picked for her bridesmaids."

Lucy cracked a small smile and wiped her eyes. "Yeah," she said, "that'll be fun."

They began climbing the stairs and about halfway up Rose paused and gently took her cousin by the wrist. "Luce?"

"Hm?"

"You know—you know it doesn't matter to anyone if you're a prefect, right? I think you're brilliant no matter what."

Lucy chuckled thickly and shook her head. "Thanks, Rosie. I just—what if—what if I'm not? A prefect, I mean? I know you don't think it's important but—my dad and Molly—"

"They won't care."

"That's easy for you to say." Lucy's face hardened for a moment and then she sighed heavily. "I know Molly won't care, really, and neither will Mum. And Dad won't be angry he'll just be terribly disappointed."

"That's okay, Luce," Rose put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed.

"I hate disappointing him," Lucy said softly. "You know he always says that it's important to do well in school and to distinguish yourself? Because nobody can take that away from you. He always says not to be blinded by ambition, but to try your best. And he always tells me and Molly that we're both capable of becoming head girl or minister of magic."

"And now Molly's done the first."

"Yeah."

"Well, you're guaranteed to be prefect, at least," Rose said brightly. "There's no one else in our year who would be better."

"I'm not sure about that," Lucy smiled ruefully.

"Stop being modest." Rose rolled her eyes. "You're going to be prefect next year and you're going to do a brilliant job and become head girl and be the best head that Hogwarts has ever had."

Lucy opened her mouth but then closed it and shook her head. She climbed up the rest of the stairs, Rose trailing behind her. They went into their room and Rose dug out Aunt Fleur's _Witch Weekly_ and the two girls settled on the bed together, heads together, giggling over the picture on the cover of an angry Dominique stunning a photographer.

"Rosie?" Lucy said as they flipped the page.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter 16

The morning of September first, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters bustled merrily. Students milled about, girls squealing as they hugged friends and boys shouting raucously. Among the hubbub Rose stood with her mother, peering around the platform for signs of her friends. "I hate not driving with everyone," she frowned. "It's impossible to find them with all these people."

"I rather like it this way," Rose's mother glanced sideways at her. "It seems I never get you all to myself anymore." Rose flushed and gave her mother a small, apologetic smile. "And I can't believe you're a fourth year," Hermione continued, putting an arm around Rose's shoulders.

Rose didn't answer, but stood on her toes to tip her head onto her mother's shoulder.

"Are you excited for the year?" Hermione asked, running a hand absently through Rose's hair.

"I suppose," Rose shrugged. "I'm looking forward to Runes. Professor Scribner said she'd consider giving me portions of _Beedle the Bard_ to translate. And then there's quidditch, although that won't be quite the same without Dom."

"No, I suppose not," Hermione said. "But I'm sure your team will do well nonetheless."

"I just can't picture the team without her." Rose sighed and flattened her feet, leaning her head against her mother's bicep.

"You'll figure it out." Hermione patted Rose's arm. "Who did you say the new captain is?"

"Henry Winkle," Rose said. "He's a beater."

"Is he going to be good?"

"I-I dunno," Rose responded thoughtfully. "He's no Dom, but he knows the team and he knows the sport. I suppose we'll have to see."

Hermione nodded. "Just do your best, sweetheart. And try not to get too caught up in quidditch, alright? It's only a game."

"Mhm, right," Rose muttered with a vague shake of her head. Her mother simply rolled her eyes.

"Just remember there will be other things that require your attention," Hermione admonished. "Like classes."

"Mum, I'm top of my class."

" _I know_ , Rosie, but it takes work to stay there."

"I'll be fine."

"Well," Hermione added, with an arched eyebrow and a small smile, "you'll also be able to attend the Victory Ball this year, won't you?"

"Erm," Rose mumbled, her ears reddening, "yes."

"So I'd imagine you'll have to spend some time finding a date."

"Mum!"

"And last I checked Lysander and Roxanne were still going out-"

" _Mother!_ " Rose's entire face was on fire now and she hastily extricated herself from her mother's arm, spinning around wildly to ensure no one had overheard. "Why don't you just scream that out for the entire platform to hear?" she hissed.

"Oh, Rose, nobody heard and you know it," Hermione said impatiently, rolling her eyes. "Do you really think I would say something like that if I thought someone would overhear? I'm not your father for Merlin's sake."

"Well what if someone did overhear?" Rose folded her arms and glared. "And anyways, I don't fancy him."

"You don't?"

"No," Rose said, a flush cascading over her neck. She chewed the inside of her cheek and stared intensely at a crack in the platform. "I don't."

"Well, then, are you going to ask that Nathan Nott boy who you talk about so often?"

"No!" Rose's head shot up. "He's-" she thought of Lucy momentarily and shook her head, a small smile escaping her lips. "He's just a friend. And anyways, he's as good as going out with someone else."

"Oh, is he?" Hermione said nonchalantly. "Not with anyone I would know though, I'm sure?"

"Er, no."

"I figured. Well, what about that Vance boy who wrote you so often this summer?"

Rose's entire face burned as she shook her head. "He's just a friend as well."

"I see."

Her mother's smirk was far too knowing for her liking, but she bit her bottom lip and shrugged.

"Well," Hermione said, "your dad will be thrilled to hear that every single boy you talk to is just a friend."

Rose made a noncommittal noise and shrugged again, her face searing. This was exactly why she wanted to drive to the platform with the Potters. This conversation would never have happened if others had been present! Or even if her dad were here. He could always be counted on to stop any conversation that implied Rose talked to any boys who weren't related to her.

"Say," she looked up suddenly toward the barrier, "d'you reckon we should go see if Dad and Hugh need help? They're taking an awful long time."

"No, I'm sure everything's okay," Hermione said, though she craned her neck to eye the barrier apprehensively. "Your dad probably just insisted on driving around until he found the perfect parking spot."

"They'd better hurry," Rose said with a glance at her watch. "The train leaves in ten minutes."

"They'll be fine," Hermione said. With another small smile she added, "I don't think your dad would've fancied being part of that conversation."

"I didn't fancy being part of that conversation," Rose grumbled.

Hermione chuckled and drew Rose into a hug. "I'm only teasing you, darling," she murmured. "Though I do wish you'd talk to me more about those things. I like to hear something of your goings on. And I prefer when what I hear is more substantial than Lily's chatter."

" _Lily's_ -?"

"Of course," Hermione continued, "I suppose if my mum had tried to talk to me about who I took to the ball fourth year-"

"I thought you didn't have a Victory Ball?"

"No, no, the Yule Ball, for the Triwizard Tournament." Hermione leaned back and smirked. "When I went with Viktor Krum."

"I thought you said Krum was only a friend?" Rose furrowed her brow. "Dad said you lot were friends with him because of Uncle Harry."

"Oh, your father prefers to remember it that way."

"But- _Krum?_ "

"He was perfectly lovely," Hermione smiled. "Though very quiet. It took ages to get him to talk. He was quite an avid letter writer, though."

"Mum," Rose said slowly, brushing a piece of hair from her eyes. "Did you-did you go out with Viktor Krum?"

"Oh, I don't know that you'd call it going out," Hermione answered. "It was more of an _attachment_. I did snog him once or twice-"

"Mum!" Rose jumped back and put her hands over her ears. "I don't want to know! I don't want to know!"

"Rose, honestly-"

"Oy, 'Mione, Rosie!"

Rose looked up and almost sighed with relief at the sight of her dad and brother jogging toward them, bogged down with Rose and Hugo's trunks.

"I got the best parking spot," Ron grinned, waving the keys madly above his head. "Right by the front, it'll be quick as apparition getting back to the car."

"Lovely, dear," Hermione said, kissing her husband on the cheek. The train whistle shrieked, and she turned quickly to Rose and Hugo. "You'd best get on then," she said, bending to kiss Hugo on the head.

"Oy, Mum!" he jerked away, furiously ruffling his hair. "Not here where everyone can see!"

"Fine." Hermione wrapped an arm around him. "But now you have to kiss me twice at Christmas."

Rose felt a large arm engulf her and allowed herself to be wrapped into her father's chest. "Have a good year, Rosie Posie," Ron said into her hair.

"Dad, nobody calls me that anymore," she groaned.

"I do."

"Well you're the only one."

"Good, that makes it even better."

"Ugh," she mumbled through a smile. "You should just call me Rose."

"Well, what's the fun in that?"

"It's a grown up name."

"Well you're not a grown up yet. You're my little girl. And I'm going to miss you very much."

"I'm going to miss you too."

"And you're going to get all O's."

"Mhm."

"And you're going to have an outstanding quidditch season."

"I'll try."

"And I love you."

"I love you too."

"Have a good year, sweetheart," Ron said as he let go. "And keep an eye on Hugh, will you? Make sure he's not getting up to any trouble."

"I'm not getting up to trouble!" Hugo cried indignantly.

"I know, mate," Ron laughed, ruffling his son's hair.

"Goodbye, Rosie," Hermione said, giving Rose a quick hug. "Have a good year." She leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "And don't go falling in love with a quidditch player."

"I won't," Rose mumbled, her face heating up again as she jerked away.

The train whistle sounded again and Hermione hurriedly handed Rose her trunk and shuffled her toward the steam engine. Rose hopped on and stowed her trunk, with help from Hugo. As the doors closed she glanced over her shoulder and caught one last look at her parents waving before she turned and began walking down the corridor.

Rose heard her family before she saw them. They were all standing in the corridor; James and Fred leaned against a compartment door, talking merrily to Zeno Aylmer, their friend from Gryffindor whom Rose had met briefly the previous summer at the Burrow. Lily hovered at her brother's side, with Louis next to her. Roxanne stood with the Scamanders and Theo Vance a few feet away and waved as Rose approached. Lucy, Albus, Nathan and Maren were huddled on the other side of the corridor.

"Have a good summer, Rose?" Nathan asked as she joined them, his eyes crinkling as he grinned.

"Not bad," she shrugged, returning his smile. "Although I wish I'd been able to see you lot more."

"Don't we already see each other enough?" Albus elbowed her in the side. "Between the holidays and school and whenever our dads want to watch quidditch and drag us all to your house-"

"I wasn't talking to you, troll brain." Rose rolled her eyes. "I see you and Lucy plenty. I was talking to the people I'm not related to."

"I'm flattered," Nathan chuckled. His smile broadened as he turned and said, "Lucy, would you agree with her? D'you wish you'd seen more of me?"

Lucy's face went scarlet and Rose felt a bite of sympathy for her cousin. None of them, it seemed, had managed to escape the dreaded Weasley blush.

"Well, obviously I wish we'd all been able to spend more time together," Lucy said, catching a piece of hair and twisting it around her index finger. "Though I suppose it's no matter now that we're all together."

"Of course," Nathan replied quickly, his smile fading slightly as he put a hand on her shoulder. He looked toward Al, who shrugged and shook his head. "So," Nathan said, "shall we find a compartment then?"

"Ought we to wait for Allie?" Rose asked, looking around as though expecting the blonde to come skipping down the corridor toward them. "Where is she?"

"Didn't you hear?" Maren asked through a fit of giggles. "She and Scorpius decided to find their own compartment. So they could _say hello and catch up_ -"

"Eurgh," Rose groaned, slapping a hand over her ear. "Gross."

"So we shan't be seeing them." Maren waggled her eyebrows.

Rose made a face.

"But we really ought to find a compartment," Maren said, straightening up. "Are we all going to be able to fit in one? We've fourteen people."

"We can try," Rose said. "We'll just have to squeeze."

Lucy, her face recovering its natural color, snorted and shook her head. "Rosie, even if we all drank a vat of shrinking solution I don't think we'd fit in one compartment."

As it turned out Lucy was right. They didn't all fit in one compartment, no matter what they tried, even with James riding in the luggage rack and hanging down to join the conversation. And so Rose found herself shoved between Albus and Theo Vance, with Maren, Lucy and Nathan smashed together across from her and Roxanne and the Scamanders squeezed into the seats by the door. To her disappointment, Fred and James had decided to find a different one to share with their friend, and Louis, Lily and Hugo. Rose bit her lip as she glanced around the compartment and realized it was her first trip to Hogwarts without Fred.

"Well this is cozy," Maren said drily, wiggling in her seat.

"You'd think that since we split up into two compartments there'd be a bit more room," Nathan mused.

"What's it like to ride in a compartment without being crushed on both sides?" Rose asked Theo, doing her best to shake off her sentimentality as she turned to look at him. "I've always wondered."

"You know it's rather pleasant," Theo answered with a laugh. "And much easier to breathe."

"But it must get draughty," Rose said soberly. "With all that extra room."

"Oh, horribly draughty," Theo said with equal solemnity. He moved slightly closer to her, so that his arm was pressed up against hers. "This is the first time I've ever been this hot on the train."

"Er-" Rose mumbled, turning back to face the table and hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. "Right." She looked up to find Maren smirking at her. How she wished at that moment that they were in a compartment with Fred and James, who would joke and laugh and ensure that moments like this didn't occur. "Well, er, how is everyone?"

"Great," Albus said, shaking hair out of his eyes. "My dad decided to give me tips on how to ask a girl to the Victory Ball _on the bloody platform_. Where people could hear!"

"Ugh," Rose groaned in sympathy. "Sorry, Al. Oh!" she nearly jumped out of her seat. "But that's not as bad-you'll never-guess what my mum told me!"

"What?"

"She snogged Viktor Krum!"

"Krum?" Maren asked, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. "Viktor Krum? The seeker? Your mum snogged him? But she doesn't even _like_ quidditch!"

"I know!" Rose cried. "Can you believe it?"

"Well she did go to the Yule Ball with him," Lucy said.

"I-well-wait," Rose paused and furrowed her brow. "How did you know?"

"My dad told me," Lucy shrugged. "When he was talking about his first job out of Hogwarts. It was part of his 'If You're Head Boy or Head Girl You Can Do Big Things' speech. He spent nearly twenty minutes lecturing me about it on the platform."

"Eurgh," Rose crinkled her nose at the thought. "Is that why I couldn't find you?"

"That and Molly asked us to stay with her," Lucy said quietly. "She said she was scared she'd muck up her first duties as Head Girl."

Rose snorted. "She won't muck it up."

Lucy seemed to shrink visibly in her seat. "I know."

Nathan, glancing at Lucy, cut in, "Your sister's Head Girl, then?"

Lucy nodded.

"Good for her. She must be thrilled."

"Yeah, she is," Lucy mumbled. "Everyone is."

Nathan frowned and paused before trying again. "Well, it sounds like your family's proud."

Lucy let out a dry laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen my dad so happy." She reached up and tugged at a piece of hair. "He spent nearly twenty minutes polishing her badge for her before we left."

The compartment fell silent. Rose bit her lip and stared around at the uncomfortable faces, racking her brain for something to say.

Lorcan Scamander beat her to it, asking, "Would anyone care for a game of trap the nargle?" and producing from his pocket a ball of twine, a sock, and a roll of spell-o-tape.

A beat of silence followed, and then Albus tentatively replied, "Er, how about exploding snap?"

Everyone hastily agreed, jostling each other as they tried to move in their seats. The game was soon underway, with nobody else saying a word about Viktor Krum, or the Victory Ball, or Head Girl.

The rest of the journey passed quickly, as did the carriage ride to the castle. When Rose dropped into her seat at the Ravenclaw table she let out a sigh. "I hope the sorting goes quickly. I'm starved."

"Do you have any cousins coming in this year?" asked Allie, who had only just detached herself from the side of Scorpius Malfoy and taken the seat beside Rose.

"No." Rose barely suppressed a grin at finally having her friend to herself and shook her head. "Lily and Hugo were the last. Which is a bit strange to think about. Isn't it, Luce?"

"What?" Lucy looked up from across the table.

"There's no more Weasley cousins coming into Hogwarts," Rose said.

"Oh, yes," Lucy said, turning toward the stool and Sorting Hat waiting for the new first years. "It is a bit odd."

The first years arrived, all looking rather windblown and wary. Rose watched with mild amusement as first "Ackley, Elton" and then the rest of the students were sorted. She thought back to her own sorting, the anxiety she had felt before trying on the hat, the relief at being sorted into the same house as Lucy, the fear that her parents would be disappointed. How silly she'd been. She couldn't imagine now being in any other house. Not even Gryffindor.

"Zambrowski, Julius" was sorted into Ravenclaw and the Sorting Hat was whisked away as McGonagall stood to give her opening remarks.

"Now that you have all found your place," she said with a hint of smile, "I'd like to say welcome to our new students, and welcome back to those returning. I hope you all find Hogwarts to be a second home. I have just a few announcements before we tuck in." Rose drummed her fingers on the table in front of her and let her gaze wander as the headmistress continued. Beside her, Allie jiggled her foot and wound a piece of blonde hair around her finger. Further down the table, Molly sat with the other seventh years, her Head Girl badge gleaming on her chest. She looked different somehow, though Rose didn't know why. Molly sat up straight and watched McGonagall fastidiously, obviously trying very hard to set a good example. Rose chewed her lip and watched; she didn't know Molly as well as her other cousins. She knew she wanted to be a healer, that she was at the top of her class and Head Girl, and that she liked flying but disliked playing quidditch. But those were things everyone knew. Rose thought back to her conversations with Lucy and realized she still didn't really know whether or not Molly was happy to be Head Girl. She'd seemed pleased when the letters had arrived, yet when Rose thought about it, she couldn't remember if Molly had seemed genuinely happy to receive the badge, or simply happy to have pleased the adults.

Rose absently caught a curl in her hand and began to wind it around her finger as she stared at Molly. Was Molly happy? She always seemed happy. Rose squinted and studied her cousin carefully. Molly's hair was curly like Rose's, though brown and nowhere near as crazy, falling lightly over her shoulders. She had a pointed chin and pretty brown eyes which were slightly too close together. Her thin lips curled almost naturally into a smile. She looked, to Rose, exactly how a Head Girl should look; serious and studious, yet approachable, undoubtedly friendly. But even still, she didn't know if Molly looked happy. Molly's eyes kept flickering back to the table, to her hands, to the girls around her. Her fingers tapped the table and every few seconds she ran her tongue over her bottom lip.

Molly looked unsure of herself, Rose realized. That's what was different. Usually she sat with Dom at the feast, giggling and chatting. They were best friends, inseparable. Rose thought about how she would feel if she had to go to school without Lucy. She wouldn't last a day, she decided. Was that how Molly felt now?

"And now, let the feast begin!" McGonagall's words pulled Rose sharply from her reverie and she shook her head, blinking as she turned back toward her friends. The dishes appeared on the table and she immediately heaped her plate with everything she could reach.

"The house elves have outdone themselves," Maren said as she bit into a piece of steak and kidney pie.

"They really have," Allie nodded, cutting a potato into small squares. "This is lovely."

Rose mumbled something in agreement and chewed, her eyes roaming back to Molly, who was smiling and talking to a first year beside her.

When dessert had been cleared and everyone had been dismissed, the girls walked back to Ravenclaw Tower, chattering about tomorrow's lessons and Victory Ball dresses. Lucy, to Rose's relief, seemed to be back to normal, as she described a pretty pink dress she'd seen in Twilfit and Tattings that she hoped to wear to the ball.

The stairs to the dormitory seemed to go on forever and when they finally entered the room Rose collapsed heavily onto her bed. "I think I could sleep for a week," she murmured.

Lucy snorted. "I'm sure you could."

Rose rolled over onto her stomach at turned to look at her cousin. "Luce?"

"Hm?"

"D'you wanna read a book together?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Like we used to do with Vic and Dom?"

"Yeah," Rose said with feigned nonchalance. "It's sorta a tradition now, y'know?"

Lucy smiled and then nodded. "Yeah, okay." She walked over and sat on Rose's bed. "We still need to enlarge them, don't we?"

"Mhm," Rose said. "Can you do it? I don't wanna get up."

"Fine." Lucy stood and took out her wand, muttering an incantation as she leaned over Rose's trunk. "Which one should we read?"

"You choose," Rose shrugged.

There was a pause and then a dip in the mattress as Lucy sat back down. "Here," she said, shoving the book toward Rose. "You read."

Rose sat up and glanced at the volume her cousin had chosen. " _Pride and Prejudice_ ," she grinned. "Really?"

Lucy nodded and moved to sit next to her. "Oh! Should we go find Molly and ask her to join?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "I think she'd like that."

Lucy got to her feet and scurried out of the dormitory, returning a few minutes later with her sister.

"Is it finally my turn to read?" Molly asked, the corner of her mouth curling upward. She didn't wait for a response before climbing onto the bed and nestling between the two younger girls.

"It's tradition," said Rose, handing the book to Molly and sinking into her pillow.

Molly opened to the first page and cleared her throat. "Everybody ready?" she asked. Rose and Lucy nodded. Molly glanced at them both and then grinned. She cleared her throat again and stuck her nose in the air as she said in a high, affected posh accent, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Classes started and Rose walked into her first lesson, double potions, with her head high. "I'm going to be top in this class if it kills me," she said to Lucy as they took their seats.

"Whatever you say," Lucy responded absently, taking out her potions kit and barely glancing at Rose. "But you're still not allowed to touch our potion today."

"Fine."

The door slammed and Professor Lecher swept through the classroom. "Good morning," he said briskly as he set his bag down on his desk and flicked his wand at the blackboard. "Everybody take your seats."

Rose straightened and took out her book. Professor Lecher stood in front of the class, his hands clasped tightly in front of him. "Welcome back," he said in a measured voice. "I trust you all enjoyed your holiday and I hope you're ready for your fourth year of study. Today," he gestured toward the blackboard which was covered in spindly writing, "we will be starting with a wit-sharpening potion as a way to begin our blood-based potions unit. If you would all please turn to page sixteen in your book we will begin our lecture."

Rose, for the first time she could remember, listened carefully as Lecher droned on about blood-based potions and their uses. By the time he set them to work brewing their own, her parchment was covered in cramped, hurried notes.

"What should I do first?" she whispered to Lucy after reading through the wit-sharpening recipe.

"Chop these," Lucy said, shoving a handful of root of aconite toward her and leaning over the cauldron to measure the salamander blood. "Make sure they're even."

Rose nodded and set to work, concentrating on the task at hand. When the roots had been carefully cut to even cubes she handed them back to Lucy and began measuring fluxweed. "Thank you," Lucy said as she added the roots to the cauldron. Next we need flux—oh, you remembered."

"I read the instructions," Rose said a bit sheepishly.

"I'm proud," Lucy said dryly.

They continued working for the remainder of class, Rose dutifully consulting the instructions every few minutes. At the end their potion was a pretty green color, glistening slightly in the dim lights of the dungeon.

"Mm, not bad," Professor Lecher said when he passed by their cauldron, peering at the contents placidly. "Although it looks a bit thin—you let it boil too long before adding the newt eyes. And it's supposed to be a few shades darker. Next time make sure everything's chopped carefully and your stirs are precise."

Rose stiffened and frowned, staring at the potion. She'd done everything right; the potion was supposed to be perfect. Lecher was supposed to smile and confirm that their potion was exactly as it should be, mark an O in his gradebook, and move on.

"Good work today," Lecher said, waving his wand and vanishing the contents before walking to the table behind them. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy, very well done. You've managed to achieve the precise shade of emerald described in the book."

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and crossed her arms, glaring at her textbook as Lucy cleaned their table.

"Very well," Lecher's voice rang out, addressing the class. "You're dismissed. For next class I would like you all to write an essay on the differences between salamander blood and dragon blood and their uses in potions. A roll of parchment in length, please."

Rose turned back to the table and began packing her things, grinding her teeth. "I can't believe that," she muttered as she shoved her scales in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I cut those bloody roots evenly, I spent ten minutes on it—"

"Rosie, it's fine," Lucy said. "Our potions are never perfect."

"But I bloody tried on this one, Luce!"

"Well just keep trying and it'll get better."

"Hmph," Rose grumbled. "Potions is just stupid." They walked up to the fourth floor where Rose waved goodbye to Lucy, making her way down the corridor to ancient runes.

"Hullo," she greeted Nathan as she slid into her seat.

"Hey, Rose," he said, taking out his book. "How's your morning going?"

"Eurgh," she wrinkled her nose. "We started with double potions."

"Ah," Nathan nodded sympathetically. "That'll put anyone in a bad mood."

"I just don't understand how anyone can possibly enjoy that class," Rose said. "I mean, honestly, it's a load of rubbish. Even if you follow the instructions the sodding potions don't turn out the way they're supposed to."

"You've got to have a knack for it," Nathan shrugged. "We have it this afternoon and I already know I'm going to do terribly."

Rose snorted. "You're rather good at potions, though."

"Nah," Nathan shook his head. "Scorpius usually helps me. I dunno what I'm going to do without him."

Rose gave a dry laugh but didn't answer. Of course, Nathan hadn't meant to rub in the fact that Scorpius was good at potions. He was just trying to sympathize. But it didn't make her any happier that a git like Scorpius was good at potions and she wasn't. She glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at the sight of the git in question and Allie whispering over the desk. She turned to Nathan and opened her mouth to comment on their sickening whispering when Professor Scribner swept into the room.

"Hello, hello, welcome," she said airily, waving her wand at the board and turning to face them. "Enough chitchat. You can all catch up later. We have much to cover this term, so if you will all please take out your books and turn to page three we will begin discussing runes depicting the future."

When class ended Rose was practically bouncing in her seat. "Aren't you excited?" she asked Nathan as they walked to the Great Hall for lunch. "She said we're going to get to read through some original rune script soon! And that whole thing about the near future and the distant future, and then the probable future and improbable future—it's all fascinating." She broke off and caught her breath as Nathan laughed.

"You're the only person who gets this excited over a class," he said with a shake of his head.

"It's interesting!" Rose cried as they walked into the hall.

"Whatever you say," Nathan said. His eyes locked onto something past Rose and he called out, "Oy! Lucy!"

Rose's cousin stopped and waved. Nathan hurried toward the Ravenclaw table and Rose jogged after him, panting slightly as she took her seat.

"How was ancient runes?" Lucy asked, pulling a pitcher of pumpkin juice forward.

"Not bad," Nathan said. "Though your cousin's a bit obsessed."

Lucy rolled her eyes and grinned. "She's loony about that stuff."

"I'm right here," Rose mumbled, sticking her tongue out.

"I know," Lucy chirped.

They ate quickly. Nathan and Lucy talked about potions and about muggle studies, which Lucy had that afternoon.

"It's fascinating," she breathed to Nathan. "Not just learning how they live, but learning how all these machines _work._ "

"You'll have to tell me all about it," Nathan grinned. "It sounds terrific."

To Rose's relief, Maren and Albus joined them soon after and so she was able to escape the muggle studies conversation and instead discuss truly interesting things. Like quidditch, and the prospective additions to the house teams.

"Ravenclaw needs a strong seeker," Maren said ruefully as she bit into a sandwich. "Dom was so important to the team last year."

"D'you think we'll be able to find someone as good as Dom?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow. "I mean she had talent, build and experience going for her. I dunno if we'll be able to find anyone like that—"

"Build and experience don't matter as much," Albus said. "I know they're usually smaller and light, but really when it comes to finding a seeker all you really need is someone who has speed and good control of their broom."

"It's difficult to find a flyer who has both, though," Rose said, "regardless of build. And it's even more difficult because Dom's had the position for so long. We don't even have a clear idea of who the top candidates are."

"Unless it's someone who's tried out for a different position before," Maren added.

"I can't think of any who would be stand outs, though."

"What about Milo Remington?" Maren asked, barely suppressing a giggle.

Rose snorted. "If we want a seeker who catches the snitch by falling off their broom."

"Shh!" Maren hissed between her chuckles. "He might be nearby!"

"Maybe he could invent a new maneuver," Albus said thoughtfully. "Like your dad, Rose. Like, he could fall off his broom on purpose and catch the snitch before he hit the ground. Or would that be ruled a foul?"

"I dunno," Rose shrugged. "I doubt if he fell he'd be able to catch the snitch, though."

"And if he fell then Katrina would go after him and we'd be down a chaser," Maren added sagely, pushing her empty plate away and checking her watch. "Oh, Merlin. We'd best be going. It's nearly time for transfiguration."

As they were leaving the Great Hall, Fred approached Rose and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Hello, Rosie Posie," he said jovially. "How is the first day of classes treating you?"

"Like shite," Rose shook her head. "It started with double potions and then Al reminded me and Maren of our terrible chances of finding a good seeker to replace Dom."

"That does sound like a shite morning," Fred nodded. "But, would it be better if you could spend tomorrow evening in Gryffindor common room drinking butterbeer with your favorite cousin?"

"But Al's a Slytherin," Rose said in a saccharine voice, laughing as Fred feigned horror.

"I'm hurt, Posie," he frowned. "But I suppose I can forgive you. Now, James is sneaking into Hogsmeade during dinner tomorrow to start building up this year's stores of drinks and since I barely saw you all summer and we didn't get to talk during the train ride, I thought it'd be fun to spend an evening in the common room. It'd be like when you were a first year, remember?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded, her mouth splitting into a grin. "Yeah, that sounds grand, actually."

"Great," said Fred, ruffling her hair. "Just come by the common room after dinner. The password's rigadoon."

Rose nodded again.

"Now run off to class, you truant," Fred said, dropping his arm and pretending to shoo her away. "And if you breathe a word of the Hogsmeade trip to Molly I'll write your dad and tell him you've been hiding a boyfriend!"

Rose excused herself from dinner the next evening and hastily made her way to Gryffindor Tower, grinning madly at the prospect of spending a few hours with Fred. She'd missed him. She'd barely seen him or James over the summer and whenever the whole family had been at the Burrow, she'd been too preoccupied with Maren or Lucy. She couldn't even remember the last time they'd had a proper conversation. She had to tell him about ancient runes, and about Ravenclaw's quidditch prospects, and about the embarrassing conversation with her mother on the platform.

"Password, dear?" the Fat Lady asked when Rose reached the portrait.

"Rigadoon," she said, smiling as the door swung open. Gryffindors had it so easy, just having to remember a password to get into their common room. She clambered through the portrait hole and peered around the room. It was nearly deserted, with no sign of Fred, but that was no matter. Rose selected a particularly squashy red couch and sank down, tucking her feet underneath her.

The fire crackled merrily and Rose let her head fall onto the cushion, her lips curled up at the thought of a warm bottle of butterbeer, and an evening spent with her favorite cousin whose brotherly affection she'd sorely missed.

Footsteps echoed from one of the staircases and Rose sat up. Roxanne appeared at the bottom of the stairs, wearing an old Weasley sweater with a large G on it. "Oh, I didn't think you'd be here yet," she said to Rose. "Er, Fred wanted me to tell you he's really sorry, but he forgot their friend Zeno is turning seventeen tonight and so all of them are going down to Hogsmeade to celebrate."

Rose blinked. "Oh. So-"

"He's really sorry," Roxanne cracked her knuckles. "And hey, there's a good chance that next time he'll bring you two butterbeers out of guilt."

"Right." Rose brushed back a piece of hair and got to her feet. "I s'pose I should go then? Unless you wanted to-"

"I'm meeting Ly in the library," Roxanne said with a shrug. "Though you can come if you'd like."

"No, that's okay," Rose turned to go. The thought of accompanying Roxanne and Lysander to the library made her feel as though she'd eaten a slug. "I'll just go back to my common room."

"Right-o." Roxanne flopped onto the couch. "Remember, when you see Fred, demand that he bring you two butterbeers next time."

"Of course," Rose said hollowly. With a quick wave she hurriedly left the common room, hugging herself tightly and jogging down the corridor back to Ravenclaw Tower. "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," she chanted under her breath, feeling the ugly compressive tears build up in her chest. "Don't be silly, don't be silly, don't be silly."

She was overreacting; she knew she was. Of course Fred had his own friends and would want to spend time with them, especially if said friends were turning seventeen. It was perfectly reasonable that he would choose to go to Hogsmeade with them instead of spending an evening drinking butterbeers with his little Ravenclaw cousin who just wanted to babble on about ancient runes and quidditch.

"Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry-"

"Rose?"

She skidded to a halt and looked up. The Scamander twins and Theo stood in front of her, all holding their bags.

"Is something wrong?" Theo asked, cocking his head to the side and furrowing his brow. "You look upset."

"Er-no," Rose mumbled thickly, blinking rapidly in an attempt to dispel any tears. She couldn't have the Scamanders see her like this. And she definitely couldn't have Theo see her like this. She waved her hand in the air and stuttered, "No, no, don't worry it's all-everything's grand I just-just need to go back to Ravenclaw Tower."

"Are you sure?" Theo stepped forward.

"Yes," Rose said, her voice coming out high pitched and thin. "I have to go but-" she turned to Ly and Lorcan, who were both watching her with concern, "have fun at the library." She pushed past them, not looking up again until she arrived at Ravenclaw Tower.

Before anyone knew it, the first two weeks of term had gone by. For Rose, they had been a blur of classes and homework, made bearable only by friendly chatter in the library and a large box of fudge sent by Grandma Molly. Fred had approached her in the Great Hall the day after they were supposed to meet in the Gryffindor common room, apologizing profusely and offering to bring her back an entire crate of butterbeer. Rose's dejection had melted away almost immediately and she assured him she hadn't been too upset. After all, they were cousins. There was loads of time for them to spend together.

And so after a rocky beginning the term seemed to find its footing. Rose found herself struggling to stay ahead in potions and transfiguration, which she didn't enjoy in the slightest. It meant that now she actually had to use her evenings in the library to finish her work-burying herself in books as she attempted to untangle the complex theories and laws governing blood-based potions and vertebrate transfiguration. The only thing stopping Rose from taking her broomstick and flying into the Forbidden Forest to live with Grawp was the fact that Roxanne and her friends had started inviting her to join them in the library. Their company, she found, made the never-ending mountain of work slightly less tedious, and Theo and Lorcan's presence quelled most of Roxanne and Lysander's romance.

The second weekend of the term promised to bring a break from the monotony in the form of quidditch trials. Rose awoke Saturday morning feeling as though she had eaten an entire box of fizzing whizbees. After a hurried breakfast and a small scuffle with Lucy over whose Ravenclaw scarf was lying on the floor, she made her way down to the quidditch pitch.

"You nervous?" Maren whispered to Rose as they collected their brooms from the shed.

"Not really," Rose shrugged, running a hand down the smooth wood of her broom handle and grinning to herself. "It's not as scary as a returning player."

"D'you think Henry will really make us try out again?" asked Maren as they walked toward the stands. "I mean, I know we have to show up and everything but—it's mostly for show, isn't it?"

"I dunno," Rose ran her tongue over her bottom lip. "He probably will. It'd be silly not to give anyone else a chance. But think about it. Except for the second years, we've tried out against all these people before and we made the team then."

They joined the gaggle of blue and bronze-clad students on the pitch, where Henry Winkle had already begun his speech. Rose took her place, standing on her toes to see over a group of second year boys clutching their brooms. A few minutes later Henry's whistle shrieked and Rose was kicking off into the air.

Trials were over within two hours, much to Rose's relief. All the returning players kept their spots and a new seeker had been found. Milo Remington had, in fact, tried out for the position, a fact which Rose had silently laughed over until he fell off his broom while attempting a Wronski Feint and had to be rushed to the hospital wing by Katrina.

"Thanks for coming out, everyone," shouted Henry, looking a bit worn. "It's great to see how much talent Ravenclaw's got. Now, if you didn't make the team this year, don't feel too bad. There were a lot of tough decisions made today. Keep practicing, and come back next year. If you've been made a reserve player, you'll be informed by tomorrow evening."

Muffled murmurs broke out as students began packing up their things. Rose wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead and began making her way toward the broomshed with Maren.

"One more thing!" Henry shouted over the din. "Everyone who's made the team, if you could stay for a few extra minutes, I'd like to have a quick meeting to go over schedules and expectations."

Rose rolled her eyes, and made a face at Maren, but walked over to the captain and sat down on the muddy ground, gingerly setting her broom a few feet away. Beside her, Scorpius and Lysander were both lying flat on their backs, discussing the merits of the new Nimbus model that had just come out. Near the front next to Henry stood the new seeker, a sixth year named Gabriel Herrick. He had his arms crossed tightly across his chest and was frowning at the levitating clipboard in front of Henry, who looked rather annoyed. Rose tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and studied Gabriel Herrick. She had seen him in the common room often, but didn't know anything about him other than his uncle played for the Wimbourne Wasps and he had once asked Dom to Hogsmeade and been rejected. He wasn't terribly tall, definitely shorter than Dom, and bulkier than most seekers. Rose took in his wide shoulders, his thick legs, the unsubtle bulges rippling in his arms. His appearance was disarming, though not unattractive. He had a strong jaw and blunt chin, with full lips and dark eyes. His golden blond hair formed waves almost too perfect to be natural, tickling his shoulders. As Henry began talking, congratulating them all on making the team, Gabriel smirked and ran a hand through his hair. Rose watched as the waves reformed on their own after his fingers were gone. Yes, he used some charm. She didn't realize she was still watching him until his dark eyes locked on hers and one of his golden eyebrows arched upward. Rose felt her face heat up and hastily dropped her gaze down to the grass. When she looked up again, Gabriel's eyes were still trained on her. He winked.

The meeting ended quickly; Rose had no idea what Henry had said or if it had any relevance. She had spent the rest of the time studiously avoiding Gabriel Herrick's eyes and fighting off a furious blush. She and Maren returned their brooms to the shed and made their way back to the castle. A minute later Rose realized Scorpius was walking on the other side of Maren.

"Someone needs to slip a bit of calming draught in Henry's pumpkin juice," Maren said, taking her hair out of its braid and shaking it loose. "I thought he was going to explode during that meeting."

"I think he's nervous about the season," Scorpius said evenly. "Especially after last year, everyone's expecting us to do really well."

"We're going to do brilliantly no matter what," Maren replied. "And we have almost the entire team back! It's just the seeker we need to get used to."

"And he's good; he doesn't let anything stop him from getting the snitch," Rose added quickly, thinking back to the trials when Herrick had nearly flown straight into Lysander while chasing the golden ball.

"He seems good enough," Maren shrugged. "Don't you think?" she asked, turning to Scorpius, who hadn't acknowledged Rose's comment.

"We'll see how he does," Scorpius said, his face passive. "Though I don't think Henry likes him very much."

"Why?" Rose blurted out, her eyebrows knitting together.

Scorpius frowned at her. "Do you have to ask?"

"There's nothing wrong with Gabriel."

"Of course you think that."

Rose opened her mouth to retort, but Maren interjected, "I think it was just that Herrick kept talking to Henry about strategy, and telling him plays he should consider. He went on for about five minutes about different ways we could use you to maximize our quaffle possession."

Rose paused. "He did?"

"Were you listening at that meeting at all?" Maren giggled. "Or were you too busy staring?"

"I wasn't staring!"

"Oh, please, Rose, you were practically drooling."

"I was not!"

"And your face was so red."

"No it wasn't! Wait—" her eyes went wide. "It wasn't, was it? Was it noticeable?"

"You looked like a tomato," Maren snorted.

Rose was saved from responding as they had arrived at the castle. As Scorpius opened the heavy oak door and they slipped inside, Rose surreptitiously put a hand to her cheek, breathing a sigh of relief that it didn't feel any warmer than usual.

The Great Hall buzzed that evening as news of the quidditch trials traveled between houses. Nathan and Albus joined the Ravenclaws for dinner and Nathan exclaimed that he'd been chosen as the Slytherin keeper.

"I guess this makes us rivals," Rose grinned as she hugged him.

"We were always rivals," Nathan laughed as they broke apart. He kept one arm around Rose's shoulder and threw the other around Lucy, who sat on his other side. "Now you'll just actively play against me. And you," he turned to Lucy, "will have to cheer for me."

"That wasn't part of the deal," Lucy said loftily, her cheeks turning pink.

"It is now. I just decided."

Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head. Nathan beamed as he removed his arm from Rose's shoulder. "I knew you'd see it my way," he said, turning away from Rose so he was entirely facing Lucy.

"Whatever."

Rose made a face and turned back to her plate. Beside her, Maren made a retching noise and whispered, "If they end up like Allie and Scorpius, I'm switching houses."

"I'll go with you," Rose answered, eyeing Nathan and Lucy. "I can only deal with one gross couple."

"Which house should we go to?" Maren asked. "Gryffindor, to see your cousins?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "Ly and Roxie will be there too much. Maybe Hufflepuff?"

"Good choice," Maren nodded. "And we could probably make their quidditch team."

They ate languidly, everyone cheerful from quidditch trials. Rose and Maren engaged in a short, mostly friendly argument with Albus and Nathan over whether or not Ravenclaw would beat Slytherin. The argument devolved into Rose and Nathan arguing over who was a better keeper, which resulted in a handshake over treacle tart, sealing a bet between the two.

"Get ready to lose five galleons in June," Rose said haughtily, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Nah," Nathan leaned back and stuck his chin in the air. "I rather think I'll be five galleons richer, wouldn't you agree, Albus?"

"Leave me out of it," Albus said, burying his head in his plate and shoveling another spoonful of tart in his mouth.

"How about you, then, Scorp?" Nathan asked, turning to the blonde, who had been talking to Maren.

"How about me what?" Scorpius asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Wouldn't you agree that I, your best friend since before either of us can remember and the owner of some hideously embarrassing photos of you, will most likely end the quidditch season with a better keeping record than Rose and win five galleons from her?"

Scorpius's eyebrows traveled further up his forehead and his pale eyes moved coolly between Nathan and Rose. "You made a bet?"

Rose frowned and folded her arms, deciding not to dignify his question with an answer.

"It seemed the only way to settle the argument." Nathan shrugged. "So, wouldn't you agree that I will be five galleons richer in June?"

Scorpius sat back for a moment. Rose raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

"I can't root against my own house, now can I?" Scorpius said finally, picking up his silverware and tugging a plate of treacle tart toward himself. "Sorry."

Nathan shrugged and grinned, turning to Rose. "Well, you've got at least one supporter."

"Nathan, do shut up," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "Nobody else cares about this bet. And of course all the Ravenclaws are going to support Rose."

Rose nodded and took another bite of tart. Her eyes wandered back to Scorpius, who had resumed his conversation with Maren. Rose watched, unsure what she was hoping to see. Scorpius never looked up at her.

When the Ravenclaws returned to their common room after dinner another source of giddiness waited for them. Notices had appeared on the walls, announcing that the first Hogsmeade visit of the year was scheduled to be in two weeks.

The proceeding week progressed slowly as Rose came down from her quidditch high. Classes were becoming more demanding and, to her increasing chagrin, potions was not becoming any easier despite the work she now put in. By the time Friday morning arrived, Rose felt like a flobberworm.

"I quit," she groaned as she dropped into a seat for breakfast. "I can't do it anymore, Luce. I'm quitting school and working with Uncle George."

"Mm," Lucy mumbled, her head buried in a piece of parchment.

"Luce?" Rose asked, glancing over her shoulder at her cousin while piling eggs and sausage onto her plate. "Did you hear me?"

No answer.

"Lucy!" Rose snapped her fingers in her cousin's face. "Hello? Are you there?"

"What was that for?" Lucy dropped the letter she'd been holding and glared at Rose, folding her arms across her chest. "I was busy."

"I was talking to you."  
"Could it not have waited?"

"It's important!"

"Oh, yes, sorry, Rose I forgot," Lucy said sarcastically, a faint flush creeping up her neck as her mouth pursed. She looked as though she might cry. "Everything you have to say is vitally important and can't wait a single sodding moment-"

"Okay, fine, sorry," Rose said hastily, furrowing her brow. "Go back to reading your letter if I'm that much of a bother."

"I'm finished with it."

"Well can I tell you now why I'm quitting school and going to work for Uncle George?"

"Let me guess," Lucy said sullenly, "you got an E on our last potions essay. Or, better, you got an O but Lecher made a correction on something you said and now you're going to fail. Is that it?"

"No," Rose frowned, a bit stung by Lucy's remark. "There's just so much work right now-"

"We all have loads of work right now," Lucy cut in, staring at the letter in her hand as she carefully folded it into halves, then quarters, then eighths. "And nobody else is complaining."

"Never mind then," Rose snapped, turning away and scowling at her eggs. "I'll stop bothering you with my silly problems."

Lucy remained sullen the rest of the morning and responded to Rose's confusion and questions with thinly veiled irritation.

"You wouldn't understand," she grumbled over their dissolving solution in potions.

"I might!" Rose whispered. "Just tell me. And even if I don't understand then you can explain it, you're good at that! And then once I know what's going on you can talk about it-"

"Just leave it alone, Rose," Lucy sighed, turning back to her potions book.

She didn't say anything when Rose accidentally added two cups of stinksap to their potion instead of just a teaspoon, and barely said a word to anyone before hurrying out the door when the bell rang.

"D'you know what's wrong with Lucy?" Rose asked Maren as they walked to transfiguration.

"No idea," Maren shook her head. "You reckon we should go after her though? Get her to talk?"

"No." Rose shook her head. "She just wants to be left alone."

Lucy's mood did not improve throughout the day and when she announced after dinner that she was going to the library, nobody made any move to join her. Soon afterward Maren left with Scorpius for a practice session Henry had organized for the Ravenclaw chasers, with Allie trailing them, holding Scorpius's hand. Rose rolled her eyes and went back to her book.

An hour passed and Rose was still absorbed in _Mrs. Dalloway_ , her hair now tied back in a plait and her legs hanging over the arm of her chair. She almost didn't hear someone approaching, but saw the shadow a moment before a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Heya, Rose," Theo said, giving her a lopsided grin and pushing his hair off his forehead.

"Hey." She returned his smile.

"I'm supposed to give Lorcan his book back," Theo said, his eyes flickering between Rose and the floor. "Have you seen him?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "Sorry." She paused for a moment and nodded toward the book bag slung over his shoulder. "Finished working for the night?"

"Yeah," Theo grimaced and dropped into the seat beside her. "I decided to give up for the night on this arithmancy homework. It's impossible."

"Sounds awful." Rose closed her book and swung her legs off the arm of the chair.

"It is," Theo nodded. They fell silent and he cracked his knuckles, his head swiveling around the common room. "So, uh, where are your friends?"

"Maren had an extra quidditch practice," Rose said, "and Allie went with her because Scorpius was going as well. And Lucy ran off to the library, though she's been in a right state all day so I'm not too upset at being by myself at the moment."

Theo raised his eyebrows. "Is she alright?" he asked. "I mean, obviously not if she's in a state but she-I get the feeling Lucy-I mean you know her better than I do but I always thought she was fairly-you know-"

"Unruffled," Rose supplied with a nod. "Yes, no one seems to know what the trouble is. And she won't tell us."

"Well that's a problem."

"I know," Rose groaned. "And I just-" she bit her lip and frowned. "I'm her cousin!" she burst out, "and her best friend! She should talk to me. I talk to her about everything. Or-well, almost everything. She knows I want to help."

Theo nodded and leaned forward.

"And I just don't know why she would think she can't talk to me," Rose finished, trailing off and chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"I don't know," Theo said. "I'm sure she'll come around, though."

"I hope so," Rose murmured, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "I hate this."

"Well, let's talk about happier things," Theo said, "to take your mind off it. Are you excited about Hogsmeade?"

Rose shrugged. "I suppose. Although it's not quite as fun when you know you aren't going with anyone."

"How can you know? It's not for more than a week."

"Even if someone asked, I'd say no," Rose said resolutely. "After the last one-ugh." She shuddered. "The one I told you about? With the bloke who kissed me? An absolute nightmare. No, I'm not going on another Hogsmeade date."

"You're still going to go though, right?" Theo asked, frowning slightly. "You're not skipping out on the village altogether, are you?"

"Oh, of course not," Rose said with a wave of her hand. "I'll probably go with Maren and Lucy and Al and Nathan like always. It's still a grand time even if you're not on a date."

"Mhm," Theo nodded.

A loud shriek echoed through the common room then and Rose and Theo both jumped.

"What in the-"

"Rosie! Rosie!" cried Lucy, who had come sprinting into the common room, grinning like a madwoman. "Rose! Oh, there you are!" She bounded over to the armchair, hastily waving at Theo before climbing onto the chair with Rose, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her as she nearly screamed, "NathanaskedmetoHogsmeade! NathanaskedmetoHogsmeade!"

" _What?_ " Rose squealed, sitting up straight and taking her cousin by the arms.

"He asked me! He asked me!" Lucy said. "Oh, I'm so happy, I feel as though I ate a whole crate of fizzing whizbees!"

Rose's eyes widened, finally catching onto what had happened. "You mean-"

Lucy laughed and threw an arm around Rose's neck. "Nathan asked me to Hogsmeade!"

* * *

Thank you all for your continued encouragement and support. Your reviews mean the world to me and it really makes me boundlessly happy to know that there are people who not only read this story, but enjoy it and love it as much as I do.

I'd love to get to 100 reviews soon! Any comment you have, no matter how short or how critical, is valid and valuable.

Thank you again for reading. I hope the story continues to be worthwhile.


	18. Chapter 17

October arrived at Hogwarts with all its usual festivity and color. Leaves trailed across the grounds like small vibrant footprints as the trees seemed to sigh in relief, shedding the heavy burdens of summer in preparation for their impending rest.

Inside Ravenclaw Tower, Rose stared out the large window in her dormitory at the red and orange and yellow specks swirling in the wind. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed as a rogue yellow leaf blew away from the others and skidded across the surface of the lake.

"Rosie!" a sharp voice pierced her reverie. Rose jumped and turned to find Lucy standing before her, holding up two dresses. "Which should I wear today?"

"I dunno," Rose shrugged, sitting back. "They're both pretty."

"You're not being helpful." Lucy rolled her eyes. "This one is lighter and has a nicer skirt," she gestured toward the dress on the left, a pretty sky blue with beading at the neckline. "But this one," she pointed to the one on the right, a short sleeved grey shift dress with a ruffled hem, "is more casual, more sophisticated-more like what Aunt Fleur wears."

Rose nodded, eying both dresses uncertainly. "Er, well, which one is more comfortable?"

"Hm, I suppose the grey one."

"Then wear it."

"But don't you think the blue one is prettier?"Lucy bit her lip and squinted. "And soon I won't be able to wear it anymore because it will be too cold."

"So wear the blue." Rose turned back to the window, searching for the rebellious yellow leaf. She caught sight of it drifting languidly into the depths of the lake.

"But what if it's too nice? What if Nathan thinks I spent hours agonizing over what to wear?"

"Well he wouldn't be wrong."

"I don't know," Rose groaned and put a hand over her face. She peered out the window just in time to see a black tentacle take hold of the yellow leaf, dragging it underwater. "Ask Allie. She's loads better at this sort of thing."

"She and Scorpius went to the library to get some work done before going to the village."

"But it's a Saturday," Rose wrinkled her nose. "And it's early."

""They seem to enjoy it." Lucy shrugged and turned back to her dresses. "And you know they're probably just snogging."

"Eurgh," Rose mimed vomiting. "I don't need that image in my head, Luce."

"Oh, grow up, Rose. It's not like you've never snogged anyone."

"It's not the snogging, it's the people."

Lucy rolled her eyes but didn't answer. After several minutes of staring at the two dresses in the mirror she threw them on her bed and announced, "I'm going to wear the grey one."

"I'll send an owl to _Witch Weekly_ ," Rose said without looking up from the window.

"Can you help me with my hair?" Lucy asked, zipping up the dress and taking out her wand. "I want to curl it and can't reach the bits in the back."

Rose nodded and walked over to her cousin, picking up her own wand from her nightstand. "We really need to learn that charm Dom uses."

"I can't ever seem to get the hand movement right," Lucy replied, waving her wand so a hairbrush worked out the knots in her hair. "I either flick too sharply and end up with poodle hair or I don't flick enough and only the ends curl."

"They need to have an entire class on it," Rose said. "Oh, and d'you want me to put some Sleekeazy's in it first, so it looks smoother?"

Lucy nodded and Rose snatched the bottle from her trunk, pouring a generous amount in her hand before working it through her cousin's hair.

"So, are you excited?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows in the mirror. Lucy flushed and bit her lip

"I am. But-oh, I don't know-I'm quite nervous. Is that silly?" she turned to face Rose, her brown eyes wide and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "I mean, we've been friends for ages. I know it won't be bad and I know he's not dull. But what if it doesn't go well? What if we're just sitting in the Three Broomsticks in silence and he realizes that I'm a boring swot?"

"You're not a boring swot," Rose said firmly, putting an arm around Lucy's neck and giving her a squeeze. "You're fantastic."

"What if it's awkward?" Lucy whispered.

Rose laughed. "It probably will be."

"That's not helpful."

"Well, I'm not good at these things so I don't know what you expected."

"You could at least try."

"I am trying," Rose said, taking a section of Lucy's hair and winding it around the wand. "And I'm doing your hair for you, aren't I?"

"Yes," Lucy leaned back. "I just-Rosie, I really fancy him."

Rose snorted as she released the section of hair, which fell in a bouncing ringlet down Lucy's back. "Yeah, we know. You've fancied him since first year."

Lucy flushed again and sniffed. "Not since first year."

"Yes, since first year!" Rose huffed as she wound another section of hair around the wand.

"You can't prove that."

Rose grumbled but didn't answer. She worked quietly on Lucy's hair for a minute before looking up and asking, "Luce? The day Nathan asked you, why were you so upset? You never told me."

Lucy's eyes dropped to her lap. "Oh," she said to her hands. "It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

"What was it?" Rose pressed.

"I just got a letter from my dad was all," Lucy muttered. "You know how he can be sometimes."

"What did it say?"

"The usual," Lucy frowned. "I need to make sure I'm doing everything I can to be successful, because success after school starts with success in school."

"Well you do everything right so you should be fine." Rose unwound the final piece of hair from the wand and stepped back to admire her work.

Lucy grimaced. "He doesn't seem to think so."

"But how-"

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Lucy cut her off, turning in her seat to inspect her hair. She brushed a piece from her forehead and continued, "I want to have fun today."

"Alright," Rose nodded, setting her wand on her bed. "But you know you can tell me about-about those letters and your dad, er, right?"

"Of course," Lucy said absently, putting on a headband.

The dormitory door opened then and Rose looked up to see Maren and Allie scampering into the room.

"We've no time! We've no time!" Allie cried, tossing her bag to the floor and dashing to the bathroom.

"What-?" Rose turned to Maren.

"She and Scorpius 'lost track of time' in the library and now she's afraid they'll be late going to Hogsmeade." Maren smirked in the direction of the bathroom. "Which goes to show," she said loudly, "that you shouldn't make snogging plans right before trips to the village."

Allie's reply was muffled by the door but it sounded as though she was shouting "Sod off."

Maren snorted and flopped back on her bed, looking at Rose and Lucy. "How did your morning go?"

"Not bad," Rose answered, bending over her trunk in search of her leather bag. "Although I nearly had to fetch a bottle of calming draught for Lucy."

"You did not," Lucy scoffed, applying a bit of blush onto her cheeks.

"You were screeching worse than Aslan."

" _I was not!_ "

"Shut up both of you and get your things," Maren laughed. "I want to be in one of the first carriages to the village so we can get a good table at the Three Broomsticks."

"I'm ready," Rose declared, looking over her jeans, jumper and bag. She ran a hand half-heartedly through her hair in an attempt to tame the tangled mess.

"Me too," Lucy said, snapping her compact mirror closed.

"Excellent," Maren said, jumping to her feet. "Now, Allie," she called toward the bathroom. "Shall we wait for you or would you prefer if we just let Scorpius know where to find you?"

"Shut up, Maren." the door opened and Allie walked out, looking just as fresh and glowing as always. She wore jeans and a white shirt, with her blonde ringlets framing her face. Her skin seemed to glow. "I'm ready."

Rose adjusted her bag and shoved her wand into it. "Let's go, then."

The girls traipsed into the Great Hall to find Albus, Scorpius and Nathan waiting for them. Nathan's face split into a grin as they approached and he detached himself from the boys.

"Morning," he waved cheerfully.

"Hullo," Rose said, smirking as she turned to look at Lucy, whose face had gone scarlet.

"Hi," Lucy whispered almost inaudibly. She reached up and tugged at the ends of her curls.

"It looks like the weather'll be fine this afternoon," Nathan said, moving around Rose and standing next to Lucy. "So we'll have a good day for walking around the village."

"Oh, that's good," Lucy nodded. "What do you-I mean, do you have anything you'd particularly like to do?"

Nathan shrugged. "Not really. Though I was just talking to Scorp and he suggested you and I go to the Three Broomsticks with him and Allie."

"Oh," Lucy exhaled. "That'd be wonderful."

"That's what I thought," Nathan smiled. He turned back and called, "Oy! Scorp! Luce and I are coming with you two!"

Scorpius looked up from his conversation with Albus and nodded.

Nathan turned back to Lucy and shifted his weight. "So-er-" he glanced at Rose and then back at Lucy. "Are you excited then?"

"Oh, she's very excited," Rose answered, laughing as Nathan raised his eyebrows. "She's been going on all morning about how much she-oof!" she broke off as Maren thumped her hard in the back, gesturing towards Lucy whose face had turned an even darker shade of red.

"Rosie," Lucy muttered through gritted teeth. "Shut. Up."

"Right," Rose said quickly, turning to Maren who simply grinned. "Right. Well, we ought to go so we can get a carriage. Do you-shall we meet up with you later?"

"I don't know," Nathan said, looking over his shoulder at Scorpius and then back at Lucy. "We're going to get butterbeer with Allie and Scorp and I thought we might stay with them for a bit."

"Oh." Rose frowned.

"Just so we don't make anyone else feel weird, yeah?" Nathan said. "I don't want you two or Al to have to sit through it-"

"No, no, of course," Rose said airily, fiddling with the strap of her bag. "Right. I didn't-well, I wouldn't want to-right. So we'll just see you back at the castle for dinner?"

"No, don't worry about it!" Rose said, straightening and smiling at her cousin. "I just-no, I just want you to have a good time."

"Are you sure?" Lucy furrowed her brow.

"Yes!" Rose nodded vehemently. "Yes, so Maren and I will go with Al and get out of your way. And you two-er-have fun. Don't drink too much butterbeer. Don't get too close to the Shrieking Shack."

"Yeah, of course," Lucy said. "We'll see you soon."

Rose nodded and grabbed Maren by the arm, walking quickly toward Albus. When they finally got Albus away from Scorpius ("Rosie, we were talking about the new Falcons chaser, there's so much to discuss!") the three of them made their way to the Entrance Hall. After the usual interrogation from Filch they climbed into a carriage and were off to Hogsmeade.

"Where should we go?" Rose asked after they disembarked from the carriage, peering around High Street.

"We could go to Three Broomsticks," Albus said, ruffling his hair. "I'd like a butterbeer."

"Er," Rose hesitated. The idea of going to Three Broomsticks and having to watch not one but two of her friends on dates was too much.

"Nah," Maren crinkled her nose and shook her head. "I dunno about you, but I really don't fancy watching Lucy and Nathan snog on a table."

"Urgh," Albus groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Please don't say that."

"They're probably not even the ones who will be snogging," Rose grimaced. "I'd bet on Allie and Scorpius."

"Or maybe everyone will be snogging," Maren said, grinning at Al. He made a face and shook his head.

"No. No snogging. No Three Broomsticks. No more talking about this."

"Why?" Maren asked innocently. "I quite like this conversation."

"Ugh," Al mumbled. "Girls might like talking about their friends snogging but blokes don't."

"I don't like talking about it," Rose said. "It makes me feel rather ill, actually."

"Good," Al said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So let's not talk about it, yeah? Now how about we go to Honeydukes where there are no couples and no one snogging?"

"How do you know there won't be anyone snogging?" Maren asked.

"Nobody snogs in Honeydukes." Albus began walking down the street, pausing as the girls caught up to him. "Why would you when there's sweets everywhere?"

"What's that to do with anything?" Maren laughed.

"Well, er," Albus frowned. "It's just-there's sweets! Who snogs when there's sweets to buy?"

Maren snorted. "Rose, have you ever seen anyone snog in Honeydukes?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "Although now that I think about it," she turned to Maren, "it would make sense. You'd think that being surrounded by sweets would make people want to-"

"Please don't ruin Honeydukes for me, Rosie," Albus cut in, shaking his head.

"I'm not ruining anything-"

"Rose," Albus said solemnly, fixing her with a stare. "If you don't stop talking about people snogging in the sweet shop, I'm going to write your dad and tell him I saw you snogging a bloke in there."

"You wouldn't," Rose narrowed her eyes.

"I would," Albus nodded.

Rose glared for a moment, then crossed her arms. "Fine. But if there _is_ someone snogging in there-"

"Rose!"

Honeydukes teemed with students. Immediately after walking through the door Rose hurried to the wall displaying all the different kinds of chocolate, carefully examining each description. After a quarter of an hour she selected two bars and made her way to the counter.

"Where to next?" Maren asked when Rose joined her outside. She pulled out a fizzing whizbee from her bag and popped it in her mouth.

"Joke shop?" Rose suggested, turning to Al.

"Sure," he shrugged. "D'you reckon Uncle George will give me some of the extra fireworks if I test some snackboxes?"

"You can ask," Rose grinned. "But remember what happened last time?"

"Oy, it ended alright!" Albus snapped.

"After your mum fixed you up," Rose snorted.

"What happened?" Maren asked, cocking her head to the side. "I"m missing something."

"This summer Al tested some snackboxes for Uncle George and there were some side effects," Rose giggled.

"Side effects?"

"Something didn't go right," Albus mumbled, a flush appearing on his cheeks. "And because Merlin and the planets hate me, Rose saw it."

" _He grew a tail!_ " Rose cackled, her hand flying to her mouth to muffle her laughter.

"No!" Maren cried, her mouth falling open as she turned from Rose to Albus. "You didn't!"

"My mum fixed it!" Albus cried defensively. "Quite easily, too!"

"What-oh-what animal was it?" Maren sputtered in between giggles.

Albus glared.

"Al," Maren prodded him in the side. "What was it?"

"Sod off, Thomas," he mumbled. "And look," he jerked his head toward a group of people down the road. "There's the lovebirds."

"Oh it is!" Maren cried, standing on her toes to get a better look. Rose craned her neck and squinted and saw that Al was pointing at Nathan, Lucy, Scorpius and Allie, walking together down the street. Lucy looked much more relaxed now, one of her hands clasped in Nathan's and a bright smile gracing her face. Rose's chest clenched tightly and then filled with warmth as she watched Lucy stand on her toes and peck Nathan on the cheek, saying something Rose couldn't hear. Nathan grinned and replied and the two began to lag behind Scorpius and Allie.

Rose couldn't help the corners of her mouth from curling up, and she couldn't deny that the two couples looked like something out of one of her books. Nathan and Lucy were both pink-cheeked and bouncing, turning every few seconds to look at each other and smile. Allie and Scorpius meandered ahead of them, their hands joined loosely. They seemed, Rose thought, how couples seemed at the end of stories, when the excitement is over but the romance lingers. Allie reached up and tucked a blonde curl behind her ear and Rose's chest clenched again as she watched the piece of hair, not frizzy and unruly as her own was, but sleek and tamed. Allie didn't need two different charms and half a bottle of Sleekeazy's to make her hair pretty, Rose thought, reaching up and running a hand through her own tangled curls. Allie didn't need Dom and Molly to help her look presentable at all. She had her nice blonde hair, and skin free from freckles. She didn't wear stretched out sweaters and quidditch t-shirts.

It was no wonder Allie had a boyfriend.

"No," Rose shook her head, pulling her eyes off Allie and turning around. "They don't want us crashing their date. And they'd be disgusting, anyways."

Maren shrugged and Rose didn't say anything as she began walking down High Street, eager to get to the joke shop.

"Slow down," Maren panted behind her. "Merlin, is there a herd of centaurs chasing us?"

"I just want to get there already," Rose said, fingering the ends of her hair. "It's cold."

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes loomed ahead on the corner and Rose had never been so happy to see it. She skipped ahead of Maren and Albus, maneuvering around other students and hurrying towards the shop. She reached the bright orange door just as it was flung open, and narrowly avoided catching it in the face.

"Oh, sorry, Rosie!" Roxanne stepped out of the shop, her arms laden with bags. "I didn't see you."

"S'fine," Rose said, regaining her balance. "Er," she paused as Lysander and Theo appeared in the doorway, Lysander carrying several bags. Rose raised and turned to Roxanne. "I see you've cleared out the store, then."

"Had to make sure I got all the new stuff while Flickerman's running the store," Roxanne shrugged, turning to Ly and handing him one of her bags. "Fred and I have to wait until Dad's in London to get any merchandise now. Mum said he can't give it to us since they got that letter from McGonagall about the giggling toilet seat."

"I still don't understand what the point of that was," Albus said from behind Rose's. "Why make it giggle of all things?"

"Because it wound everyone up," Roxanne grinned. "Nobody likes to hear giggling when they're on the toilet."

"So how's your day been?" Roxanne asked. "And where's Lucy?"

"She's on a date," Maren answered. "With Nathan."

"Ah." Roxanne waggled her eyebrows. "It's about time."

"I know," Rose sighed. "But now they're off doing couple things with Allie and Scorpius."

"Snogging behind the Three Broomsticks?" Roxanne grinned.

All three of the fourth years groaned and Albus put his hands over his ears. "Rox, don't tell me that! I don't want to know."

"Maybe they're just talking," Ly said, putting an arm around Roxanne. "Not everyone has to snog in Hogsmeade."

"I hope that's not all their doing," Roxanne shook her head. "Lucy needs a snog."

"Rox," Ly raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Nobody said anything for a moment. Finally, Albus turned to Roxanne and asked, a bit too loudly, "How're you feeling about next week's match?"

"Not bad," Roxanne shrugged, grinning. "Hufflepuff's decent this year but I think Gryffindor can do it."

"I heard Xavier Smith took private lessons from the Wasp's beaters this summer," Maren said.

"Well I've made it my personal mission to unseat him in the first thirty seconds of play." Roxanne ground her teeth and glared at nothing. "The pompous little prat."

Behind Roxanne, Theo looked up for the first time since appearing in the doorway and met Rose's eye. He smiled. She returned it half-heartedly, tugging on a piece of hair. He raised his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy. Rose gave a small shrug and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

The image of Allie from a few minutes before came back to Rose and she dropped her eyes to the ground, feeling her face heat up. "I'm gonna go inside," she mumbled quickly before pushing between Roxanne and Maren to walk into the shop.

The store was bright and full of chattering students inspecting products and testing fake wands on their friends. Rose waved at Merek Flickerman, the man who managed the store in Uncle George's absence, and bit her lip. A hand landed on her shoulder.

"Sorry!" Theo said, stepping back as she jumped. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You're alright," Rose said, relaxing a bit. "I didn't know you were in here too."

"I wanted to talk to you." Theo shrugged, shoving one hand in his jeans pocket. "You-you okay? You looked a little, er, distracted."

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine," Rose said, hoping her face wouldn't flush again. "It's just been an odd visit to the village what with Lucy and Allie being on dates-"

"I thought you said you didn't want a date?"

"I don't," Rose sighed and brushed a piece of hair from her forehead. "I just want my friends with me. And-okay-maybe I'd like to have a date too, but just so I wasn't the only one-especially now that Lucy's not talking to me as much-"

"Lucy's not talking to you? I thought you two were always together?"

"Oh, we are," Rose rocked on her feet. "It's just-I don't know-she said she got this letter and she's just not telling me things! We used to always tell each other things!"

"I"m sorry," Theo frowned and stepped closer, putting a hand on her arm. "That's rubbish."

"Yes it is!" Rose cried, glad to have someone sympathize. "It is rubbish. And now she and Allie are on dates and Hogsmeade isn't as fun without them!"

"Well, I think you're plenty capable of having fun without them."

Rose snorted. "You think so?"

"Of course. And you have Albus and-what's your friend's name again?"

"Maren."

"Right. You have Albus and Maren with you. And, really, isn't it better not to be around the couples all the time? You must get tired of living with them."

"I suppose," Rose conceded.

"See," Theo smiled. "So it's better that they're not here."

Rose merely shrugged.

"So," Theo glanced around the shop. "Er, do you want to look at anything?"

"Oh!" Rose snapped to attention, remembering where she was. "Yes! Hold on, I think Uncle George keeps the best stuff in the back room."

"The back room?" Theo frowned. "Are we allowed in there?"

"Oh, Flickerman won't care," Rose waved her hand. "Here," she beckoned him forward, "I'll show you."

Rose led Theo through the store and to the back room where a year before she had sobbed out her love for Ly Scamander to Fred. The room was rather small and piled high with boxes, with a small stool in the corner.

"Alright," Rose said, waving her wand so one of the boxes came crashing to the floor. She opened it and quickly began rifling through. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to see?" she asked, standing up. "We've got the newest edition of the trick wand, some weather destabilizer-oh- _sorry_ -"

Theo had moved closer to her and stood almost directly behind her, so close that if Rose were to take half a step back she'd be standing flush against him. She flushed and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Hm," she said almost to herself, "I'd like some of the new fireworks and perhaps a patented daydream charm. James told me they're brilliant but Uncle George never lets me get one."

"Have they got any of the new shield galleons?" Theo asked, bending over to look in the box. "I've been wanting to buy one since your uncle told me about them."

"I don't know," Rose said, bending over to rummage the bottom of the box. "Let me-oh, I found one!"

She stood up and immediately let out an "oof!" as her head collided with Theo's chin. He grunted in pain and staggered back and Rose clamped a hand on her head.

"Sorry," she groaned, wincing as she massaged her temple.

"It's fine," Theo said. "I've gotten worse injuries."

"Well, here," Rose said, holding out the fake galleon apologetically. "Although I guess it's not as much use if you've already gotten hurt."

Theo shrugged and took the coin, his fingers then closing around Rose's wrist. She froze and her eyes darted up to him. Theo bit his lip. "It can probably still help with some things."

"Oh?" Rose swallowed and stared at him, his brown eyes moving down her face as he tugged her closer, his mouth moving toward hers.

His lips weren't as soft as she'd thought, but they were nice. Theo removed his hand from her wrist and put it on her back, bringing his other up to the back of her neck. His mouth moved awkwardly, his teeth occasionally knocking against hers. Rose didn't mind. She brought her hands up to rest behind his neck and responded enthusiastically, moving her lips in a bungling rhythm. Theo's hand on her neck came up to thread through her hair and he pulled away slowly.

"So this isn't weird, then?"

Rose grinned, her face buzzing from the thrill of what was happening. "Nope."

"Good," Theo nodded. "I was hoping it wouldn't be."

He kissed her again. They slowly found a rhythm and she was able to move her mouth in time with his, keeping the clattering of teeth to a minimum. After a few minutes Rose pulled away, slightly breathless, and murmured, "We're still going to be friends, right?"

"Of course." Theo's breath landed on her cheek. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Just asking." Rose said, tugging his face back down.

They returned to the main room fifteen minutes later, both a little flushed. Rose carefully closed the door to the back room behind her and looked over her shoulder to give Theo a smile. He leaned forward and caught her elbow tentatively.

"So, er," he muttered, his eyes on his shoes. "We're not-going out or anything-are we?"

"I don't think so." Rose shook her head. "Unless you want to?"

"No, no, I just-wondered if you did," he said, running a hand through his hair. He looked up and grinned. "I think we're good snogging partners, though."

"Mhm," Rose mumbled, seeing two figures out of the corner of her eye who looked suspiciously like Maren and Allie. "I thought we were brilliant."

"Me too." Theo released her arm and stepped away, straightening up and saying a bit too loudly, "Well thanks for showing me around the shop. I'd best find Ly before he and Roxy decide to go back to the castle without me."

Rose simply nodded and waved as Theo walked to the door, disappearing into the street. When she turned around, she found Maren smirking at her.

"Where were you?" Maren cocked an eyebrow.

"Er-Theo needed help finding a shield galleon," Rose said, feeling a flush make its way up her neck.

"Oh, did you hear that?" Maren grinned at turned to Allie, her dark eyes glimmering. "She had to help him find a _shield galleon_."

"And of course they keep those in the back room?" Allie said, her sweet smile hiding the faintest traces of laughter. "Where nobody else goes-"

"And it's nice and cozy and dark-"

"Shut up," Rose mumbled. "Uncle George keeps the shield galleons in the backroom. And where did you even come from?" she asked Allie. "I thought you were with Lucy on a double date."

Allie shrugged. "Scorpius and I wanted to look in here."

"And back to your Uncle George keeping shield galleons in the back room," Maren said, grinning in Rose's direction. "Does he know you snogged Vance back there?"

"No, he's gone today-ugh," Rose groaned, her entire face feeling as though it were on fire as her two friends burst into giggles. "Fine," she said, putting her hands on her hips and trying to look unperturbed. "We snogged."

"Ooh, I'm so happy, Rose," Allie chirped, clapping her hands together. "And did he ask you out?"

"Er," Rose shifted her feet. "Not exactly."

"But-"

"We both thought it'd be better if we were just friends," Rose said quickly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But you kissed!" Allie frowned.

Rose shrugged. "It wasn't the first time," she said shortly.

"You're lucky," Maren shook her head. "You don't have to go through all the trouble of having a boyfriend."

"Right," Rose nodded. "Exactly. See," she turned to Allie, "Maren agrees."

"Well, if that's what you want," Allie said. "But I rather like having a boyfriend."

"Some of us just want a snog," Rose replied, walking over to a display of patented daydream charms and picking one up. "And a friend's just as good as a boyfriend."

Allie's eyebrows furrowed together but she resigned herself to a shrug. "Whatever you say, Rose."

After the Hogsmeade visit Lucy and Nathan were "going out" and nearly inseparable. Rose, though grateful for the change in her cousin and the large smile that graced her face when anyone asked her about her boyfriend, found herself growing quickly tired of the couple's constant attachment. Lucy, it seemed, was incapable of going more than ten minutes without telling someone how Nathan had pulled out her chair at the Three Broomsticks, or how they had discovered they both had a secret appreciation for Celestina Warbeck, or even how they'd held hands _the entire way_ from Gladrags to Dervish and Banges.

Thankfully there was quidditch, which Rose threw herself into, in order to avoid having to hex one of her favorite cousins and best friends. She devoted more hours to practice and to strategy, several times staying on the pitch after practice had officially ended to practice new maneuvers with Henry. One such Friday night, Rose found herself hovering in front of the left goal hoop, breathing heavily while Henry flew at her with the quaffle and Gabriel Herrick hovered off to the side, watching them.

Rose sucked in a breath and heaved herself to the right, eyes on Henry as he flew closer, the quaffle tucked tightly under his left arm. He flew to the left, then the right. Rose gripped her broom tightly, waiting. Finally, Henry ducked low and dropped below her, releasing the quaffle as he went. Rose rolled quickly to the side, pointing her broom to the ground and reaching for the quaffle as she spun. To her frustration, the ball soared past her fingers and through the right hoop.

"I can't get it!" she groaned, pushing hair out of her face and scowling at the quaffle, which was now hovering a few feet off the ground. "The stupid Hagen Roll isn't working."

"Relax," Henry called, flying lazily down and scooping up the quaffle. "It takes a while to get it. And you're making progress. At least this time you were close to catching it."

"Let's try it again." Rose ground her teeth. "And don't go easy on me this time! I saw you slow down before you threw it."

"Alright." Henry nodded. "Noted."

"Weasley!" Herrick called from the side of the pitch. "This time keep your arms tight to your side until it's time for you to reach for the quaffle. You'll spin faster and have a better shot of getting down to the quaffle."

"Okay," Rose nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yes, thank you for your input, Herrick," Henry said in a clipped voice.

Herrick raised his eyebrows but didn't respond.

Rose wiggled her shoulders and found her balance.

"Ready?" Henry called from halfway down the pitch.

"Ready!" Rose responded, exhaling and leaning over her broom. Henry flew toward her again.

"You did well today," Henry said an hour later as he, Rose, and Herrick walked back to the castle. "I'd say by you should have that move down by the time we play Gryffindor."

"You think so?" Rose asked. "I feel as though I'm not getting any better."

"It takes time," Henry shrugged. "It's a difficult move to pull off. And you're already looking loads better."

"You really are," Herrick said, turning to face Rose and grinning. "And, you know, if you ever want me to stay and help coach you, it wouldn't be a problem."

"I think the team captain can handle any coaching that needs to be done." Henry frowned at Herrick. "You could use some training sessions outside of practice, too. Your speed hasn't been that great the last few nights."

Herrick shot Henry a dirty look but didn't say anything.

They reached the main doors and made their way into the castle.

"I'll see if I can get Thomas, DeMarco and Malfoy to stay after one night," Henry said to Rose as they traipsed up the staircase. "It'd be helpful if you had an actual chaser to practice with, and best to have all three so you have different styles and strength to contend with."

"That would be good," Rose nodded. "Maren and I used to practice together with Dom a lot."

"I think I remember that," Henry replied. "And you're planning on going to the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match tomorrow, right?"

"I have to," Rose snorted. "Half my family's on the Gryffindor team."

"That's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure," Henry said. "Make sure you watch Davies, the Gryffindor keeper. He's got some great techniques."

Herrick snorted. "Davies? He's a pretty boy. He's got nothing on you, Weasley."

"He knows quite a few maneuvers that she hasn't even tried yet," Henry snapped. "Not that I don't think you could outperform him in a match," he said quickly to Rose as they approached the eagle knocker. "But it wouldn't hurt to watch him."

Rose who merely shrugged. "Will do."

"No spell can touch me but only magic can bring my demise. What am I?" the knocker asked.

"Er," Rose hesitated.

"The soul," Herrick said behind her. The door opened and he walked past Rose and Henry. "Goodnight, Winkle," he said with a nod. He turned to face Rose and winked. "You too, Weasley. Sweet dreams."

The next day found Rose in the quidditch stands, decked out in scarlet (though if anyone asked, she'd simply forgotten her yellow scarf) and screaming loudly as Roxanne scored her twelfth goal.

"Weasley scores again!" River Jordan's voice echoed through the crowd.

Roxanne punched the air and flew away, her long braid trailing behind her.

Rose let out a final whoop and resumed her seat as Aularius Braxton took possession of the quaffle, streaking down the pitch.

"Braxton with the quaffle," River Jordan said into the magical microphone. "He goes left, goes low-oh, is rerouted by a bludger sent by Weasley! Braxton passes to Bhinderwala. Bhinderwala hugs the right side of the pitch-"

Rose watched with rapt attention as Rakesh Bhinderwala, the second year who was Hufflepuff's newest chaser, flew toward up the pitch, never straying more than a few feet from the stands.

"Quite an interesting tactic he's got there," River said. "The beaters have got their work cut out for them. Weasley sends another bludger towards Bhinderwala but just misses-"

Rose groaned and turned to Maren. "Gryffindor's got to have better defensive strategies! They keep letting them keep control of the quaffle!"

Herrick, who was sitting in the stands in front of them, turned and smirked. "Weasley, maybe you and Thomas should go down there and give them some pointers, yeah?"

"Er," Rose stammered. Beside her, Maren snorted and shook her head.

"Sod off, Herrick, anyone can see that Gryffindor's not playing as well as they should."

Herrick shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't saying they aren't," he said. "Just that maybe they need to be yelled at by you two in order to get the message."

"Bhinderwala approaches goal!" River screamed, interrupting them. Herrick whipped back around to watch the game and Rose's internal temperature immediately lowered by a few degrees. River continued shouting into the megaphone, "He goes low-he shoots-"

The Gryffindor keeper rolled to the side and pointed his broomstick toward the ground, reaching out as he rolled-

"Davies saves the goal!" River shouted. "And a nice Hagen Roll we saw there, too."

The Gryffindor crowd jumped to their feet and cheered as Davies floated back up and threw the quaffle to Roxanne.

Herrick turned again, silently catching Rose's eye and grinning as the Gryffindor's chanted Davies' name.

"That's the maneuver Henry's trying to teach you, right?" Maren whispered when Herrick looked away.

"Yeah," Rose answered, her eyes tracking Davies as he hung in front of the center hoop, looking windswept but otherwise unruffled. "Dunno that I'll ever be able to pull it off like _that_ , though."

"Weasley with the quaffle again," River called out as Roxanne made her way down the pitch. "She dodges a bludger, dodges Braxton, oh! Weasley is hit by a bludger sent by Xavier Smith and drops the quaffle! Braxton picks it up and starts back toward the Gryffindor goal! Braxton passes to Bhinderwala-Bhinderwala goes low, he passes to Penner-Penner passes back to Bhinderwala-Shannon Warrington of Gryffindor successfully takes the quaffle!"

A roar went through the crowd as Shannon turned her broom around and sped down the pitch, the quaffle tucked securely under her left arm.

"Warrington goes left-she goes right-she dodges a bluder-she's headed toward goal-oh! Holly Penner nearly unseats Warrington and gains control of the quaffle!"

Rose groaned. "This is getting ridiculous," she said to Maren. "Gryffindor needs to get their defense together."

"The beaters need to focus," Maren nodded. "Smith's nearly handed Hufflepuff a couple goals just because of his hits."

"Ugh." Rose wrinkled her nose and ran a hand through her hair. "And he's not even good! Fred's so much better! I don't know why-"

Shouts rippled through the crowd and every student around Rose suddenly jumped to their feet. She whipped her head around, frantically trying to see over the heads of the students in front of her. "What? What's happening?" She jumped up on her toes and nudged Maren.

"The seekers!" Maren shouted, stretching tall and using Rose's head to push herself up further, craning her neck. "They're diving toward the base of Gryffindor's goal posts!"

Rose's eyes widened and she jumped, trying to see the action. "I can't see!" she wailed. It didn't matter, though, because River Jordan began screaming into the magical megaphone.

"Kennedy Cutler and Silas Sobocinski are neck and neck! They're racing toward the ground, they're going to crash! They're-"

An enormous cheer drowned out the rest of River's words as the scarlet and gold-clad students exploded. Rose saw Kennedy Cutler fly over the stands, her right hand extended in a victorious fist, encasing the golden snitch.

Rose cheered and stamped her feet, grinning wildly. "They did it!" she yelled to Maren as they hugged with as much fervor as if it were their house that had just won.

"Thank Merlin for Kennedy Cutler!" Maren laughed with a shake of her head.

"She's one of the best seekers in the school," Rose said. "Can you imagine if she were a Ravenclaw? We'd be unstoppable."

"Weasley, are you trying to replace me?" Herrick turned around again and gave Rose a fake pout. "I thought we were getting on quite well."

Rose, to her relief, didn't flush, and simply shrugged. "When you outfly Silas Sobocinski and manage to catch the snitch while nearly crashing into the ground then I suppose we'll see."

Herrick rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. As the golden strands reformed into their waves, he leaned forward and put a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Don't think you're getting rid of me that easily."

Rose's face did flush, then, as Herrick's eyes met hers and the tip of his tongue dragged over his lips. "Well-"

"Are you two going to snog?" Maren broke in, a hand on her hip and an eyebrow quirked upward. "Because you might want to wait until you're back in the castle and in a broom closet or something. Henry would go ballistic if he saw you."

"Winkle doesn't control me," Herrick muttered, though his hand snaked off Rose's shoulder and he took a step back.

"We should go down there," Rose said to Maren, jerking her head toward the pitch. "I want to congratulate everyone."

They waved goodbye to Herrick and trotted down to the quidditch pitch, where the Gryffindor team and their families were still congregated. Rose caught sight of Fred almost immediately and hurried toward him. "Congrats!" she cried as she threw her arms around him.

"Thanks," he said, giving her a squeeze and releasing her. "Though we wouldn't've won if Cutler hadn't caught the snitch."

"Yeah, you weren't doing very well before that," Rose said. Fred frowned and rolled his eyes.

"You're supposed to be congratulating me, Rosie."

"I know, but really, Fred, Xavier Smith outdid you that's just pathetic-"

"His dad's been having him practice with professionals!"

"You're related to professionals!"

"Well everyone has their bad days and honestly-"

"Oy," James broke in and threw an arm around Rose's shoulder. "No arguing. We've just won a bloody important match and you two are ruining the moment."

"I was just saying-" Rose began hotly, but James rolled his eyes and cut her off.

"We're having a party in the common room to celebrate." He turned to look at Rose and Maren individually. "You two are invited, if you'd like to come."

Rose resisted the urge to scream and hug him, settling for just grinning. She'd heard her cousins tell stories over the years about the legendary Gryffindor post-match parties.

"Ooh, really?" Maren asked, her face lighting up, clearly remembering those same stories that Dom had shared with them.

"Yeah," James nodded. "It'll be fun. You two can meet people."

"I already know people," Rose said. "We're only two years behind you, you know. We know nearly everyone in your year."

"Well you'll meet more of them," James said airily. "Or you can drink a butterbeer and sit in the corner. Either is fine with me. But Al's coming and it'd be fun to have the whole family there."

Rose furrowed her brow. "The whole family?"

"Not the younger ones, obviously," James said quickly. "Just fourth years and above."

Rose relaxed and noddded.

"Come on, Rosie," Fred chided, tugging at the end of Rose's hair and grinning when she rolled her eyes. "It'll be fun. And I owe you for cancelling on our butterbeer afternoon in the common room."

Rose cracked a smile, unable to hide her excitement. "Of course we're coming. Wouldn't dream of missing it."

"Brilliant," Fred said. "James and I will pick you up outside your common room at nine."

Rose swept a piece of hair over her shoulder and caught Maren's eye, grinning. "Can't wait."

Nine o'clock found Rose and Maren standing outside the Ravenclaw common room, eyeing the corridor warily in case Filch or a prefect happened to walk by.

"He said nine, right?" Rose asked as she craned her neck to see further down the hallway.

"Yeah," Maren nodded. "You're sure he said he'd meet us at our common room?"

"I think so." Rose frowned and surveyed the hallway. "You reckon we should walk a bit and look?"

"Stay here for a bit," Maren said. "Then if Lucy or Allie changes their mind about coming, they can find us."

Rose shook her head. "I can't believe they said no."

"To hang out with their _boyfriends_ ," Maren said in exasperation. "Even though I told them that no one would care if Scorpius and Nathan came with us!"

"And even if they couldn't, it's a Gryffindor party and we're going!"

"Exactly!" Maren huffed. "Rose, promise me if we ever get boyfriends that we won't turn into wet blankets?"

"Promise," Rose said solemnly.

"Perfect," Maren nodded. "And," her voice lowered and wavered slightly, "are you sure I look alright?"

"You look fantastic." Rose rolled her eyes, but turned to look at her friend. Maren wore a pair of tight dark jeans and a flowy red tank top that stopped just short of her hips, revealing a flash of chocolate colored skin whenever she moved her arms. "I can't believe your parents let you get that shirt," Rose said, thinking about the fit her dad would throw if she were to ever wear something that showed her stomach.

"They don't know I have it." Maren grinned wickedly. "My Aunt Gianne got it for me over the summer and I packed it before my mum could see."

"Lucky," Rose laughed and shook her head. "I wish I had aunts who got me things like that."

"Yeah," Maren said sarcastically. "Yours are just worldwide celebrities who travel all over the world and get you unbelievable quidditch tickets."

"Okay, that was only once and no one's ever gotten me a shirt that my parents wouldn't like-"

"Second row, Rose! And for Puddlemere! Do you know how long I had to beg to get into the third section-"

"But Aunt Ginny went with me, so it was as much for her-"

"Four months! Four bloody months-"

"And you know none of my family would ever keep anything a secret from my parents. I'm always little Rosie to all of them-"

"I couldn't see the snitch even with the omnioculars!"

"Er, Rose? Maren?" a voice broke in. Rose looked up to see Fred walking toward them, his wand held aloft and flooding the corridor in light. "You two ready?"

With a glance at Maren, who sighed and nodded in a tacit agreement to postpone their squabble for later, Rose said, "Yeah," and began walking down the hall.

They could hear the party raging from the hallway. "You aren't worried about anybody hearing?" Maren asked, raising an eyebrow at Fred.

Fred merely shrugged. "Uncle Neville usually just lets us off with a warning unless someone does something stupid. And anyways, we might as well enjoy it as much as we can, right?"

Maren simply shook her head and murmured, "Bloody Gryffindors," under her breath.

Fred gave the Fat Lady the password and climbed through the portrait hole with the two girls following him.

Rose's eardrums nearly exploded when she entered the common room. The air seemed to pulse as music surged from the walls; the heavy bass line of one of Cassius Strumbolix's new songs rippled through the floor and nearly toppled her over. Scores of people were crammed into the room, sloshing drinks and attempting to dance around the furniture and shouting to friends. The air hung heavy with the distinct smell of firewhiskey and the claustrophobic heat generated by the crowd of moving bodies.

Rose grinned; her pulse quickened.

"Wow," Maren said beside her, staring wide-eyed around the room. "You'd never see this in Ravenclaw."

"No," Fred laughed, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and pushing them gently across the room. "Though I'm sure your book clubs get pretty wild."

"Shut it," Rose said, though she couldn't help but smile. "Ravenclaw can throw a good party when we want to."

"I'm just teasing, Rosie," Fred said. "Although," he paused and narrowed his eyes. "I'd rather not catch you with your tongue down some bloke's throat-"

Rose's face flamed up. "I won't!" she squeaked.

"Don't worry," Maren said authoritatively to Fred, giving him a conspiratorial look. "Theo's not here and after Hogsmeade-"

"What happened at Hogsmeade?" Fred's gaze shot to Rose, who felt her face burn brighter.

"Nothing," she said, throwing what she hoped was a death glare at Maren. "We were just talking and everyone thought it was a big deal."

Maren snorted. "Mhm, _talking_."

"Rosie," Fred said, his eyes narrowing. "What happened?"

"I'm not telling you," Rose muttered.

Fred huffed and leaned down so he was eye level with Rose. His voice softened and he said quietly, "I won't be angry, I promise. I just want to know."

"No," Rose shook her head and crossed her arms, ignoring the heat radiating off her cheeks. "I'm not telling you anything because you're worse than my dad about those things and you'll tell everyone."

Fred glared at her for a moment but then sighed and straightened. "Fine," he said. "Don't tell me."

"So where's James?" Rose asked quickly, glancing around the room. "He's the one who invited us."

"He's probably near the back by the drinks," Fred said, pointing toward the far window. "There he is with Al and Zeno."

Rose stood on her toes and quickly found the three boys standing near a table littered with goblets and bottles. James held a large bottle of firewhiskey and was half-swaying, half-salsa dancing by himself. Albus held a slightly smaller bottle and seemed to be only marginally better than his brother. He was standing still, but his red face and wild hand gestures suggested that the bottle was not his first. Zeno, of the three, seemed to be doing the best, his hands empty as he laughed heartily at something James was saying.  
"Let's go say hello," Rose said, grabbing Maren by the hand and walking over to the three boys.

She made it halfway across the common room before James saw her approaching. "Rosie!" He cried, throwing his arms up and sending a wave of firewhiskey flying in the air. "And Rosie's friend!"

"Hi, James," Rose giggled as he stumbled forward and engulfed them both in a very sticky, heavy hug. "How're you doing?"

"Alrigh', alrigh'," James said into Maren's hair. "Been worse, y'know? And we won the bloody match today!"

"I know," Rose said, disengaging herself and running a hand through her hair in an attempt to flatten it. "I saw."

"Kennedy saved us," he said gravely. "Isn't that right, Ken?!" He yelled at the seeker, who was walking past just then.

"Sod off, Potter!" she yelled back with a laugh.

"Ah," James looked back at Rose and winked. "Likes t'pretend she hates me, that one."

"Doesn't everyone hate you?" Rose asked innocently.

"Nah," James shook his head wildly, sloshing more firewhiskey out of the bottle. "'Specially not you, Rosie Posie. I'm your fa-avorite cousin, I am."

"Oh?" Rose laughed. "I thought that was Fred."

"No," James said fervently. "I'm."

"That's good to know."

"Oh!" James cried, jumping a bit and dumping even more firewhiskey onto Rose's shoes. "You two need drinks! I've forgotten to get you drinks!"

"Thank Merlin," Maren said. "What've you got?"

"Here," James came back with two smaller bottles of firewhiskey. "Since Dom's not here to boil my cauldron over you having something to drink."

The girls took the whiskey gratefully. "Cheers," Maren said, clinking her bottle against Rose's and taking a small sip. "Eurgh," she wrinkled her nose. "It tastes vile."

"Yeah," Rose grimaced as she drank a bit. The familiar fire trickled down her throat and settled somewhere at the bottom of her stomach. "Though it does get better as you go along."

"Rosie! Maren! You're here!"

Albus and Zeno had joined them and Albus now stood between the two girls, an arm around each, his head bobbing slightly as he shouted in Maren's ear, "I thought you wouldn't come! But you're here! And we're going to have a brilliant time because Rosie, you're related to me and I never see you ever which is sad and I miss you, and Maren you're one of the greatest witches I know. Honestly, you're brill and I never talk to you. Why's that, do you think?" His eyebrows knitted together and he looked up at Maren as though expecting an answer. "Why don't I talk to you much if I think you're one of the best witches in school?"

Maren looked at a loss. As she began to try to talk to Albus, Rose turned to Zeno and raised an eyebrow. "How much has he had to drink?"

"That's his fourth bottle," Zeno chuckled, watching as Albus tried to give Maren a one-armed side hug. "And now I know never to let him drink that much again."

"Good idea," Rose murmured, taking a drink from her own bottle.

"Oy, Aylmer!" James shouted suddenly from next to Maren. "I 'most forgot, I think Davies might've puked in your trunk!"

"Oh no," Zeno put a hand over his face. "He better not've."

"Alec Davies?" Rose's eyebrows flew up as her mind turned to the Gryffindor keeper. "I didn't know he was even here."

"Yeah," Zeno shrugged. "He got pissed before the party even started and had to be put to bed nearly an hour ago."

Rose snorted and took another drink. "I thought Gryffindor boys were all professionals?"

"Nah," Zeno shook his head. "At least one person overdoes it every time. But these parties are best when you're pissed."

"You're not drunk, though," Rose murmured as she lifted her bottle to her lips and took another drink. She swirled the remaining liquid around. The bottle was half-empty. When had that happened?

"It's my turn to be the sober one," Zeno said with a wry smile. "And obviously I picked a shit night for it." He gestured around the common room, where the party still roared.

"Hm," Rose said vaguely, taking another, longer drink. "You should've done a better job choosing."

Zeno laughed outright at that. "Yes, I suppose I should have. You'll simply have to enjoy tonight enough for the both of us now, won't you?"

Rose blinked at him and then looked back at her bottle. There was only a bit left in it now. She grinned and held it up, preparing to tip the last of its contents into her mouth. "I guess I'd best drink up then."

Time seemed to slip by after that and Rose quickly lost track. How long had she been talking to Zeno? At what point did she and James hide behind a sofa and confess that they were secretly each other's favorite cousins? When did Maren start snogging a Gryffindor fourth year who was in their charms class? How many bottles of firewhiskey did they all drink?

At some point late in the night, when the party was beginning to dwindle and Rose felt as though the room had turned sideways, she found herself stretched out on the floor in front of the fireplace, facing Fred who was draped over an armchair.

"Y'know, Rosie," he said into the upholstery. "I'm s'proud o' you, did you know that? So proud."

"Aw, Freddie," Rose murmured, blowing as hard as she could in an attempt to get a piece of hair off her face. "I'm pro-pr-proud of you too."

"No, really," Fred said thickly. "You-you're a brilliant witch. So's Maren. And Lucy. And all o' you. Brilliant bloody witches. And quidditch players."

"Lucy doesn't play quidditch," Rose yawned.

"I s'pose she doesn't now," Fred said. "We should make her play."

"We could've a whole 'ntire Weasley team!"

"That'd be great." Fred tried to nod but only succeeded in smashing his face into the arm of the chair. "Have her replace Herrick."

"She's no' good enough for that," Rose shook her head. "She needs flyin' lessons first."

"So's long as Herrick's gone," Fred muttered. "He's a bad bloke, Rosie. Don' talk to him."

"I like'm," Rose said, her tongue feeling as though it were rolling back on itself. "He's nice to me."

"He's a-he's a tosser," Fred said. "A big, engorgioed flobberworm tosser."

Rose giggled at that. "He's not like a flobberworm!" she said. "He's _fi-it_."

"Eurgh." Fred groaned. "'S a prat. Don' talk to him."

Rose made a noncommittal noise and laid her head down on her outstretched arms. It was a rare occasion where she was actually grateful for her hair. It made a nice pillow, she thought.

"Freddie?"  
"Hm?"

"Di' you have fun t'night?"

There was a pause and the crunch of upholstery as Fred shifted in the chair. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Thanks for comin', Rosie."

"O' course."

The next thing Rose knew, she was curled up on the most uncomfortable bed she had ever experienced, with a pillow shoved in her mouth and a pounding headache as someone shook her awake.

"Rose, Rose, you've gotta wake up!"

"Go away," she muttered through the pillow, batting at the intruder.

"No, wake up, you've got to get back to your common room." The voice was louder this time, and now Rose realized it belonged to Fred. She rolled onto her side and cracked an eyelid. Fred's face came into view, along with a horde of crimson banners and furniture.

That's when Rose realized she wasn't laying on an uncomfortable bed, but on the floor of the Gryffindor common room, and there wasn't a pillow stuffed in her mouth but a wad of her hair.

"Urgh," she groaned, sitting up tentatively. Her head felt as though it had taken a hit from a bludger and she put a hand to it gingerly. "What happened?"

"You just fell asleep here," Fred said, putting a hand gently on her shoulder and helping her stand up. "Zeno thought it'd be better for you and Maren to just sleep down here than for us to try and walk you back to your common room in the middle of the night."

"What?" She noticed Maren, then, sprawled across one of the scarlet sofas, a small puddle of drool staining the cushion.

"Come on," Fred said, leaning over Maren and shaking her shoulder. "It's nearly nine. If you're not back soon, people will notice."

Rose simply nodded and winced at the pain that immediately reverberated around her skull. "Ugh," she groaned again, massaging her temples. "My head hurts."

"That'll be a hangover," Fred said as Maren began to stir. "I reckon you both might not feel too brilliant today. You had a lot to drink."

Maren sat up then, looking just as dazed and bedraggled as Rose felt. "Wha' happened?" she asked, peering around the common room.

"We stayed the night here," Rose answered. "And now it's time to go back."

"Right," Fred nodded, helping Maren to her feet. "Now listen to me, both of you," he glanced at Maren and then at Rose. "I know me and James invited you here, and it was fun, and we trust you both but," his eyebrows furrowed as his gaze swept over them again, "no matter what house you're with or what's happening, please be careful. Nothing bad happened last night and I know James and I should've been better about keeping an eye on you but-look, if it weren't for Zeno you both might've been a lot worse off. Rose, he said you could hardly stand up at the end of the night."

"Oh," Rose bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Fred, I didn't-"

"No, no, I'm not yelling at you," he said quickly, putting an arm around her shoulder. "I know in the beginning you don't know how much is too much and everyone was wound up last night and obviously everything's fine and you can always stay here but just-just be careful, yeah? No matter what? For me? Because now you're getting older and you'll be at a lot more of these things and the idea of you two going to a party and not having me or James or Zeno or someone there to look out for you-"

"We'll be careful," Maren said, though somewhat faintly.

"Good," Fred said. "I just-I realized I probably should have said that before last night but-now's better than never."

"Mhm," Rose murmured, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thanks for taking care of us."

"Anytime, Rosie." Fred smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm glad you're finally a fourth year. This year's when the real fun begins."


	19. Chapter 18

November passed Hogwarts in a flurry of sludge. For Rose, it passed in a whirlwind of homework, quidditch, and the occasional furtive meetup with Theo Vance in the broom closet beside the statue of Uric the Oddball on the sixth floor.

The broom closet had become necessary in late October, after the night of Ravenclaw's first quidditch match of the year against Slytherin. To everyone's delight, Ravenclaw had won (Herrick caught the snitch in twelve minutes) and somebody had decided to celebrate with a proper party. Rose, although attempting to be mindful of Fred's warning, had emptied a bottle of firewhiskey within half an hour of entering the common room and consequentially spent most of the night wrapped around Theo in an armchair. The scolding she had received the next day not only from Fred, but also from Molly about "appropriate common room behavior" was enough to ensure that she now insisted any and all snogging took place behind a closed door where no cousins could find them.

"Remind me again why we can't just snog in the common room like everyone else?" Theo asked one evening as they stepped out of the closet and began walking back toward Ravenclaw Tower.

"Because Molly would see us," Rose said, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to neaten it. "Or somebody else would see us and tell her and then she'll yell at me again. And I don't fancy getting another dressing down in the middle of the common room."

Theo raised an eyebrow and caught Rose's hand in his. "We don't even snog that often, though. And nobody says anything about your cousin Lucy and her boyfriend."

"Yes well," Rose flushed and glanced at the floor, suddenly very aware of Theo's warm palm pressed against hers. "They're going out. So nobody cares as much."

"So if we were going out nobody would say anything?"

"Erm," Rose bit her lip to keep her mouth from splitting into a smile. "I don't know. They'd probably take the mickey out of us for a bit. And they might give you a bit of a hard time. But, I don't think they would say much about us snogging then."

"Hm," Theo nodded absently. The pad of his index finger trailed along Rose's knuckles.

"Would you—er—I mean," Rose stammered, "have you had one before? A girlfriend, I mean?"

"What?" Theo glanced sideways at her, his eyebrows shooting up. "Not really. Well, I don't know—"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Hm?"

"Well, you either have or you haven't." Rose furrowed her eyebrows and bit the inside of her cheek.

"Er," Theo slid his hand from hers and scratched the back of his neck. "It wasn't exactly—she wasn't exactly my girlfriend but—you know—"

"What does that mean?" Rose frowned, crossing her arms.

"We were—well, we were doing a lot what you and I are doing—you know—broom closets and everything. We went to Hogsmeade a few times together and Diagon Alley once over Christmas hols."

"That sounds like you were going out."

"But we weren't really." Theo scratched the back of his neck again, his ears and cheeks burning a scarlet that would have put Rose's father to shame. "It was—I don't know, Rose. I really liked her and she liked me—at least I think—and it was like we were going out but she was never actually my girlfriend."

Rose bit her lip. "Oh."

"Yeah," Theo nodded. They continued down the corridor in an awkward silence.  
"So," Rose said finally, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears and steadfastly watching the floor. "Who—who was it?"

Theo hesitated and then said, "Helena Barbaruff. Do you know her?"

"Oh," Rose chewed her lip and nodded, thinking of the tall, willowy blonde sixth year who sometimes filled in as a reserve chaser for the Ravenclaw quidditch team. "Yeah, I know her." She paused and then added quietly, "She's pretty."

"Yeah, she is," Theo said vaguely. "But, er," he sputtered quickly after, turning to Rose, "she's not—you know I don't—I mean, we're just friends. And I think you're really pretty too—your eyes are—and your hair—and—"

Rose relaxed and let out a soft giggle. "Thank you," she said softly, slipping her hand back into Theo's. "And for the record, you're very cute too."

"Cute enough to snog in front of your cousins?" Theo glanced at her.

"How about in another broom cupboard?"

December arrived at the castle without much fanfare. Snow blanketed the grounds and Rose's daily mountain of homework grew steadily larger. Rose found herself the recipient of Allie Boot's uproarious excitement, however, after the new issue of Witch Weekly arrived bearing rumors that Dominique had secretly married an Arabian prince.

"You're sure it's not true?" Allie asked Rose one morning as they walked to ancient runes. "Absolutely sure?"

"Yes," Rose nodded for the third time. "Trust me, Allie, if it were true I would've gotten a letter from Mum by now saying that Uncle Bill exploded."

"That's so disappointing" Allie sighed, deflating. "That would have been so exciting if she really had become a princess."

Rose snorted. "Dom would make a terrible princess. She likes fighting too much. And anyways, she can't have gotten married. She always told us she likes to kiss lots of boys and not just stay with one."

"But she might've outgrown that," Allie said. "People change after school, you know."

"Well I don't think Dom has."

"You wouldn't know though, would you?" Allie asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You've hardly seen her since she went to Egypt."

Rose glared at her friend. "I see her plenty more than you do."

"Sorry, sorry," Allie said quickly, putting a hand up and smiling. "I'm sure you do. I didn't mean to be rude."

"It's fine," Rose shrugged, still a bit affronted.

It must be so romantic to be Dominique," Allie sighed, hugging her bag tighter to her side as she glanced dreamily down the corridor. "To have all those exciting stories written about her."

Rose shrugged again. "She said it's more annoying than anything."

"But wouldn't it be fun to see articles written about you in a magazine?"

Rose raised her eyebrows and turned toward Allie. "They're nearly all fake, you know. And it's not very nice to have stories written about you when they're not true. Everyone just ignores them or gets angry. My mum said Uncle Bill nearly had a fit over the one saying Dom was pregnant."

"Oh, I suppose that one was a bit much," Allie nodded. "But the others, they're just fun. I wish someone was writing stories about me getting engaged to a prince."

"Mum said the magazines just like writing about Dom because she's single and pretty," Rose said, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "And that's why she's gotten the worst of it out of all of us."

"Wait," Allie stopped and put a hand on Rose's elbow. "Has anyone ever written a story about you or Lucy?"

Rose shook her head. "None of the magazines are allowed to print anything about any of us without our parents' permission until we're of age. If they do they'll have to go before the Wizengamot."

"What?" Allie's mouth dropped open. "How did that happen?"

"Someone printed a story about Vic when she was in fifth year that claimed she wasn't actually Uncle Bill's daughter," Rose said quietly, hitching her bag up higher on her shoulder.

"Oh my." Allie put a hand over her mouth. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, she nearly came home from Hogwarts because people made fun of her so much over it and Aunt Fleur was so angry she hexed the reporter."

"Well they shouldn't have written that story," Allie said firmly. "That's just mean. There's no harm in saying someone's engaged but printing something like that—"

"It was awful," Rose nodded. "So Mum got a ministry decree saying that magazines and newspapers can't print stories about people who are underage unless their parents' say it's alright."

"How'd she do that?"

"Dunno," Rose shrugged. "But she's Mum, so she can do almost anything in the ministry."

"Do you think they'll write about you and Al and Lucy once you're all seventeen, though?" Allie asked, her eyes wide.

They'd reached the classroom by now and Rose pulled open the door, giving a noncommittal one-armed shrug as she did so. "Probably, but Mum said we'll just have to ignore it. And either way, I doubt they'll write about me as much as they write about Dom." She gave an attempt at a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Everyone will want to talk about Al because of his dad and about Dom and Vic and Lucy because they're pretty. I'll probably be left alone."

"Really?" Allie cocked her head to the side. "I doubt they'll leave you alone."

"They probably will," Rose said in a forced neutral tone, shrugging as she set her bag down. "I'm not one of the really exciting cousins."

"Come off it, Rose," Allie said. "Of course you're exciting."

"Why're you not exciting?" Nathan Nott broke in as Rose opened her mouth to reply. He slid into his seat beside her and began taking out his books. "Is it because you're only the second best keeper in the school?"

Rose rolled her eyes but couldn't help the corner of her mouth twitching upwards. "Please," she said loftily, turning away from Allie as Scorpius dropped into his seat. "I am the best keeper in the school."

Professor Scribner swept into the classroom then, flicking her wand at the board and instructing the class to copy down the notes on differentiating between runes depicting completed actions and uncompleted actions. Rose bent obediently over her parchment and began scratching away, but turned to Nathan and whispered, "And when I have a better record than you at the end of the year and win my ten galleons I'll have proof."

"What are you going to do when I win the bet then?" Nathan raised his eyebrows, his quill suspended halfway down his parchment.

"You won't win," Rose said. "I have a better record than you already."

"I saved more goals than you, though."

"But you also let more in."

Nathan sniffed in mock irritation. "Because Scorpius knows my maneuvers too well."

"Ahem," Professor Scribner cleared her throat. "Have you all got the notes down?"

The class murmured in assent.

"Excellent," she said, flicking her wand at the board again. The writing faded and was replaced by columns of hieroglyphics and their translations. "Please turn to page 321 in your book, where you'll find an excerpt of a Gringott's log. Any runes we haven't covered yet are listed on the board. I expect this to be turned in at the beginning of the next class."

The class set to work. Rose turned lazily to page 321 and began writing on a new sheet of parchment. She'd already done this translation once on a weekend when she'd been bored and it wasn't terribly difficult.

"You won't have any excuses next week when you play Gryffindor," Rose leaned over and whispered to Nathan. "Does that make you nervous?"

"No," Nathan said, straightening in his seat and pulling his notes toward the edge of the table. "We can take them easily."

"Are you sure?" Rose tilted her chin up. "James and Fred both said they're going to flatten you."

"Right," Nathan snorted. "I think I'm going to ask Albus to put a sticking charm on my arm and attach it to my back. You know, to give Gryffindor a fair chance of it."

Rose rolled her eyes but chuckled at the idea of Nathan trying to guard the hoops and fly his broom one-handed. "James and Roxy are going to be flying circles around you."

"Yeah, because they'll be trying so hard to score on me."

"Or because they get so many past you it's not fun anymore."

"Nah," Nathan shook his head. "Hey, on the fourth line, what's this rune mean?"

"An unmade bed," Rose said without looking up.

"But that's not an action," Nathan groaned. "That's not fair."

"It's an implied incomplete action," Rose shrugged. "If the bed's unmade, then the action of making it wasn't completed."

"That's not bloody fair," Nathan muttered, crossing something out on his parchment and scribbling in the new answer. "How was I supposed to know that? We've never learned that rune."

"You can figure it out from the ones we do know," Rose said, grinning at his frustration.

"Shut up."

"You're just jealous I knew the answer."

"Yeah, well you're jealous I learned the Marback Twist before you." Nathan said with a smug smile. "Lucy said it took you nearly three weeks to get it."

"It did not!" Rose screeched indignantly, slamming a hand on her desk and earning a glare from Professor Scribner. "It took me two weeks and Lucy doesn't even listen when I talk about quidditch," she continued in a whisper, bending low over her parchment to at least make of a show of doing her work. "How would she know?"

Nathan shrugged and grinned. "It's just what she said. I remember it particularly because she'd just let me snog her in the quidditch section of the library—"

"No!" Rose cried, slamming her hands over her ears and shaking her head. "No, no, no, I refuse to hear any more about you and my cousin in the quidditch section of the library!"

Nathan's grin broadened. "She didn't tell you about it already?"

"No!" Rose glared at him. "We have a rule that if we're friends with the bloke someone snogs, we don't hear about it."

"But I thought girls always told their friends everything when they snogged someone?"

"Yes, but if they're all friends with him it's weird," Rose scowled. "Just like this is weird!"

"It's not that weird," Nathan shrugged. "I used to have to listen to Scorp talk about snogging Allie."

"Ugh!" Rose covered her ears again. "I don't want to hear it."

"Fine, fine," Nathan shook his head. "I'll stop. But, to be fair, the other day you made me listen to your description of snogging Vance in a broom cupboard."

"But you're not friends with him! And anyways, I was only telling Lucy and Maren. You just happened to be there."

"You just ran up to all three of us and started screaming about how you were nearly caught by Filch—"

"Would you two please keep it down," the voice of an irate Scorpius Malfoy said from behind them. Rose turned to find him and Allie staring at her and Nathan, Scorpius's nearly completed translation Allie's half-finished one sitting on their table. "You're making it difficult to concentrate."

Nathan merely shrugged and murmured, "Sorry, Scorp."

"You could just ignore us," Rose muttered.

Scorpius frowned. "You were being loud."

"Were we?" Nathan cut in with a good-natured smile. "We mustn't have noticed."

"I think the entire classroom now knows that you snogged Lucy in the quidditch section of the library," Scorpius said dryly.

"Ah," Nathan at last looked abashed. "She probably won't like that."

"Probably not."

"So," Nathan turned back to Rose. "We should probably get on with our translations then and—er—be a bit quieter."

Rose rolled her eyes and said, loudly enough so that Scorpius would undoubtedly hear it, "Fine, I wouldn't want to stop that prat from getting his work done."

Nathan gave her a pointed look and picked up his quill. "Be nice," he whispered. "Lucy'll be annoyed if you pick a fight with Scorp."

"I'm not the one picking a fight."

"Well neither is he. Just be nice for Lucy's sake."

"What does Lucy have to do with it?"

"You know how she hates it when you antagonize him."

"He antagonizes me!"

"You can never just leave it alone and Lucy hates it."

"Well she's not here."

"Yeah, well," Nathan paused and shook his head. "Never mind," he mumbled, bending over his parchment.

They worked in silence for a moment, Rose doodling in the margins of her completed translation. Nathan stayed bent over his parchment, not looking up at her. Finally, with a sigh, Rose poked him in the elbow. When he peered at her warily she grinned and whispered, "When I end the year with a better keeping record and you owe me ten galleons, can you just pay me in Honeydukes?"

He snorted, but gave her a small smile. "Sure, but you're not going to win. When _I_ win, I want you to pay me in new dragon hide gloves."

"Deal."

That night Rose found herself curled up in the common room, wrapped in a hand-me-down Weasley sweater that had once been Victoire's and with _Anna Karenina_ balanced on her knee. She turned the page and tucked an errant curl behind her ear, eyes sweeping over the page as Anna debated furiously with herself over her love for Count Vronsky. She didn't hear the common room door open or the approaching footsteps, and wouldn't have noticed Allie standing beside her if the other girl had not tapped her on the shoulder.

"Wha—" Rose spun around, blinking. "Oh, hey, Allie."

"Hi," Allie said, one arm wrapped around the strap of her book bag. "Er, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was just going to the library to do our runes homework and wanted to know if you would want to come."

"Sure." Rose swung her legs off the chair. "I have to get my bag from the dormitory, though." She reappeared five minutes later, her hair tugged into an unruly ponytail and her bag slung over her shoulder. She joined Allie at the door and the two walked out into the corridor.

"Thanks for coming with me," Allie said, pulling at the end of one of her curls. "I can't figure out the ending to this stupid translation."

Rose shrugged and hefted her bag higher up her shoulder. "I'll help you if you want."

"That'd be brill," Allie said, turning around the corner. "I'm terrible at runes."

"No you're not," Rose said quickly. "It's difficult."

"Not for you," Allie glanced sideways at her. "And not for Scorpius. He always makes me feel like such a dunce."

"Hm," Rose muttered, deciding not to comment on Allie's boyfriend. "You're not a dunce. I just like runes. It's fun; it's like a puzzle that you get to solve."

Allie wrinkled her nose. "I don't like puzzles very much."

"Oh, but they're so fun!" Rose exclaimed. "And it feels so good when you finish them. Like last week, when I finally finished that forty-two page translation Scribner gave me I felt like I'd eaten an entire crate of fizzing whizbees! It's so cool how you can take something that looks like just a page of silly symbols and then from it figure out the story it's telling. It's like cracking a code."

Allie smiled and slipped an arm through Rose's. "See, this is why I asked you to come. You make me want to do more translations," she laughed. "Even though I'm terrible at them."

Rose shrugged and grinned back at her friend. "It's never really a matter of being good at it or not," she said. "I mean, all the translations I do there's always a few pages that I despise because they're so difficult. But then when I finish them I feel so accomplished and proud and happy that it makes it all worth it, you know?"

"You sound like Scorpius," Allie said. "He's the same way. But every time I finish a translation I just feel dread because I know the next one will be even worse."

"Why didn't you ask him for help tonight?" Rose asked suddenly, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to keep the slightly accusatory note out of her voice. "You usually do homework with him."

"He wanted to go flying with Albus," Allie said with a shrug. "And I would rather work with you tonight. I miss doing work with you and Lucy and Maren."

"We miss you too," Rose said, standing up tall to squeeze Allie's shoulder. "You should tell Scorpius to fly with Al every night so you can work with me and Maren."

"I don't think I have to tell him," Allie laughed. "They're always flying together. Tell me, do you know why boys have to spend every evening together?"

"I dunno," Rose said vaguely, winding a piece of hair around her finger. "They don't see each other much during the day."

"I suppose," Allie sighed as they entered the library. "But we hardly ever see them."

"We see Nathan quite a bit now that he and Lucy are going out," Rose said. "And Albus we see whenever he comes with Nathan to our common room. And Scorpius—"

"You don't quite care if you see him?" Allie raised an eyebrow and set her bag on an empty table.

"Er," Rose bit her lip as she sank into the opposite chair. "No, but—"

"But you don't care if you see him," Allie said with a small smile. "It's alright to tell me that, Rose."

Rose felt her face flush and fidgeted in her seat. "It's not that I dislike him, Allie, and you know I don't think you'd date someone who was terrible. He's just—"

"What?" Allie asked. Her face had contorted into a barely stifled grin, as though the situation was funny.

Rose did _not_ find it funny as she struggled to find a response. She settled on saying diplomatically, "he's just a prat."

Allie let out an airy giggle and took out her ancient runes book and a long piece of parchment puckered with crossings-out and ink smudges. "Right. Well, enough about how my boyfriend's a prat then. This translation, tell me exactly how this is like a puzzle again?"

"Easy," Rose grinned as she slid the parchment between them. "It's just like a story, you see, except this one doesn't exactly begin at the beginning."

Before anyone knew it, Christmas holidays were upon them. Rose packed her trunk eagerly the night before they were due to leave, asking Lucy which books she should take home.

"Take all the Dickens ones," Lucy said, crinkling her nose. "They're morbid. And you've already read them."

"They are not morbid," Rose sniffed, cradling _A Tale of Two Cities_ and glaring at her cousin. "They're realistic."

"They're depressing," Lucy said. "And they make you talk about depressing things."

"But what if I want to read them next term?" Rose asked, flipping the book over in her hands and examining the back cover. "What if I miss them?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Rose," Lucy groaned.

"What? If there's some night that I want them and they're at home—"

"Then leave them here!"

"But then I won't have any room for my new books!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Can you not cast a shrinking charm?"

Rose's eyes lit up. "Luce, you're a genius!"

"No, you're just daft."

And so no novels found their way home for the holidays, something which made Rose supremely happy as she and Maren lugged their trunks onto the train the next morning.

"What in Merlin's name did you pack?" Maren panted as she helped Rose hoist her trunk into the luggage compartment.

"I don't know," Rose groaned. "Clothes and shoes and food? My four runes books? Two tins of fudge?"

"Circe, Rose, are you trying to kill us both?"

"I thought Al and Nathan would be here to help us lift it," Rose said defensively, scowling as she blew a piece of hair out of her face. "It's not my fault they've run off and left us here by ourselves!"

"You should've known Nathan wouldn't be here," Maren rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear Lucy going on at lunch yesterday about how they were going to get their own compartment?"

"Eurgh," Rose crinkled her nose. "Gross."

"It's for the best," Maren said. "Do you really want to be in a compartment with them two?"

"No," Rose conceded. "But still, could they just, you know, _not_ be gross and in love all the time?"

Maren shrugged. "At least Lucy's been happier."

"Has she?" Rose asked, a small twinge in her chest as she realized she didn't know whether this was true or not. She and Lucy hadn't spent much time together in the past months, with Lucy spending most evenings doing homework with Nathan and Rose spending her time in the runes classroom, on the quidditch pitch, or hidden in a broom cupboard with Theo.

"I think so," Maren nodded. "And Allie said the same."

"Well, that's good," Rose said, making a mental note to spend as much time as possible with Lucy over the holiday. "She deserves it."

"Mhm," Maren hummed.

The compartment door burst open and Albus walked in, flanked by Allie and Scorpius. "Nathan and Lucy left us!" he cried indignantly, throwing his hands in the air. "They wouldn't let me sit with them!"

"I told you they wouldn't," Scorpius said, one eyebrow raised and one corner of his mouth curled upward. "But you didn't listen and just had to burst in there—"

"I never needed to see that!" Albus cut him off, waving his hands wildly. "That was—it was—traumatizing! Rose, do you know what I just saw—"

"Nathan and Lucy snogging?" Rose asked, a chuckle bursting forth at her cousin's reaction.

"Yes!" he cried, sliding into the seat beside her and grabbing her arm. "On the train! They were snogging on the train!"

Rose laughed, turning to fully face Albus and grinning as she said, "Well, Al, did you hear about the quidditch section of the library?"

The train ride went quickly. The five of them played several rounds of exploding snap, with either Albus or Rose winning ever round (Maren protested they held an unfair advantage because of their family's love of the game). When they grew tired of that, Albus brought out a package of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and they had a contest to see who could pick the most disgusting flavor (Allie won with cooked flobberworm). Maren succeeded in making everything awkward by looking pointedly at Scorpius and Allie and asking why they hadn't gotten their own compartment and snogged all the way to London, at which both turned a faint shade of pink and muttered about wanting to spend time with friends.

By the time the train pulled into London, Rose was tired but not unhappy. She hugged Maren and Allie goodbye and even exchanged a cordial "Happy Christmas" with Scorpius before bouncing off the train, leaving Albus to take her trunk.

She was greeted by her waiting father with a hug and a muffled, "Hello, Rosie Posie."

"Hi, Dad!" Rose cried, not even caring about his use of the nickname. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Ron said. "I can take—where's your trunk?"

"Oh, I think Albus got it," Rose said, turning back to the train where, sure enough, Albus was stumbling off, laden with two bulky trunks.

"Good of him to get that for you," Ron nodded. "Should I help him?"

"Nah," Rose shook her head as her cousin nearly fell on his face. "James wants him to build up some more muscle for quidditch."

Christmas holidays at the Burrow started as they always did. Aunts and uncles inundated Rose with questions about schoolwork and quidditch. Uncle Bill asked which ancient runes translation had been her favorite, Uncle George asked which joke shop product she liked the most, and Uncle Percy, when he finally arrived, asked if she'd begun considering careers. Rose answered them all as best she could, telling Uncle Bill that translating The Fountain of Fair Fortune had been her favorite assignment all term, replying to Uncle George that a good old trick wand never failed, and thankfully not having to respond to Uncle Percy because her mother had chimed in that Rose had plenty of options and didn't need to worry about careers quite yet.

She didn't see Lucy as often as she'd hoped, as Lucy spent nearly every day with Molly, but that was alright, Rose thought. So long as Lucy was happy and they got to spend holidays at the Burrow together, that was all that mattered. So Rose spent her days in the attic playing exploding snap with Albus, drinking hot chocolate in the garage with Fred and Roxanne, and lying in her bedroom reading _Pride and Prejudice_.

A few days before Christmas, after she had been at the Burrow for four days, Rose was lying on the floor of her bedroom writing a letter to Maren when the door opened and Lucy walked into the room.

"I've just got a letter from Allie," she said, holding out a long piece of parchment.

"Hm?" Rose looked up.

"A letter," Lucy said, waving the parchment in Rose's face. "From Allie. You should read it."

"Why didn't she address it to both of us if I'm reading it as well?" Rose asked as she took the letter.

"It was only to me, but I think she figured I'd show it to you."

Rose raised her eyebrows and read the first paragraph.

 _Lucy,_

 _Scorpius and I just broke up. It had to happen, I know, but I just feel so horrible now. I know I've talked to you about it often and that it was for the best and you know that as well but you also know how much I wanted it to be worked out._

Rose's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "They broke up?" she asked, looking up at Lucy.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded.

"I don't believe it," Rose gaped at the parchment, skimming the rest of the letter which seemed to mostly detail Allie's emotional turmoil and her hope that her parents got her the new Pixie Dust eyeshadow palette for Christmas.

"It's not entirely a shock," Lucy said, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Rose. "It's been coming on for a while now."

"What?" Rose stared. "But—how did you know?"

"It's been quite obvious." Lucy gave Rose a pointed look. "They hardly spent any time alone. Allie said they just didn't have anything to talk about."

"Oh." Rose glanced down at her hands, searching for something to say. "That's, er, bad."

"Yes, it is bad." Lucy rolled her eyes. "See, this is why I told you now so that you'd have some time to think of something nice to say to Allie."

"I don't need time to think of something nice to say!" Rose cried, a bit stung. "Obviously I don't want her to be sad. And, anyways, Scorpius is a prat so good for her for ditching him—"

"No, no, no," Lucy said. "That's exactly what I mean, you can't say that!"

"But it's true! Allie deserves much better—"

"Allie deserves the best but there's nothing wrong with Scorpius and if you read her letter you'd know that she didn't ditch him and doesn't think he's a prat—"

"But they broke up!"

"Because they just didn't like each other that much anymore!" Lucy scowled. "You could try being a little more empathetic."

"I am empathetic," Rose said loftily. She gathered up her parchment and quill and strode to the door. "And I think I'm going to go and write Allie a nice empathetic letter right now so excuse me."

Writing a letter of consolation to Allie was more difficult than Rose anticipated, but she refused to tell Lucy that. At any rate, she managed to get it written and sent by the next morning. While she couldn't truly say she understood Allie's sadness, given that she had just freed herself from Scorpius, Rose could understand the woes that came along with love and so she happily spent an afternoon combing through her beloved books for quotes that might help her friend feel better. She reasoned that she might not be able to come up with the right words to make Allie happier, but Jane Austen could.

Christmas Eve arrived and Rose's family crowded around the wireless as they always did, with the adults sipping eggnog and the children drinking hot cocoa. To everyone's delight, Dom had been able to take a few days off work for the holidays and now sat in a loveseat with Molly, Aunt Fleur and Aunt Audrey, regaling them with tales of Egypt. Hugo, Lily, and Louis sat on the sofa with Grandma Molly and Aunt Ginny. Albus and Grandpa Arthur sat in front of the wireless, tinkering with the dials in a vliant but futile attempt to get rid of the static. Victoire and Teddy sat on the floor with Uncle Harry and Uncle Bill playing a game of chess; Rose's parents sat on the sofa along the far wall, eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans with Uncle George and Aunt Angelina. Uncle Percy was absent, having sent word that he wanted to go into the office to finish up a case before Christmas. Fred, James and Roxanne were also nowhere to be found, though Rose had a sneaking suspicion their absence wasn't due to an admirable work ethic but rather a habit of sneaking out into the garage to play exploding snap and sneak a bottle of elf-made wine. Rose sat with Lucy against the wall, both of them clutching large mugs of hot cocoa and surveying the scene in front of them.

"I'm glad you're here," Rose said absently, leaning into Lucy and resting her head on her shoulder as she watched Teddy put an arm around Vic's waist.

"Hm?" Lucy glanced at her. "Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?"

"I dunno," Rose shrugged and took a sip of cocoa. On the sofa, Aunt Angelina had apparently bit into a vomit-flavored bean and started gagging. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a long time."

"You've been busy," Lucy said mildly, her head turning toward the other side of the room.

"But I've so much to tell you," Rose grinned, looking up at her cousin. "And it's things you really should know. I haven't told you much about Theo at all. Did I tell you he called me Rosie the other day?"

"No," Lucy said airily.

"And quidditch has been absolutely brutal this term," Rose continued. "Henry's even worse than Dom sometimes and he and Herrick are always arguing. It's awful. And the new translation Professor Scribner just gave me in runes is fascinating, even better than the old Beedle stories!"

"That's nice," Lucy replied evenly. "Maren's told me a bit about the quidditch team."

"Yes," Rose nodded. "It's fun, of course. And we're doing quite well. Did you hear I learned how to do the Stanislov Feint?"

"You didn't."

"Well, I learned it in three days and Herrick said he's never seen anyone pick it up that quickly!"

"Mhm," Lucy murmured and looked around. Rose followed her cousin's gaze across the room to where her parents sat next to Uncle George and Aunt Angelina. The Every Flavor Beans sat forgotten on the floor and Rose's mum had her head resting on her husband's shoulder, much like Rose had hers resting on Lucy's. His arm was draped loosely around her and they seemed to be talking. Not about anything important, Rose guessed. If it were important her mother would be sitting up straight and would have creases between her eyebrows. No, they were just talking about something unimportant and relaxing. Maybe they were laughing at Aunt Fleur's hatred of Celestina Warbeck, or maybe about what they had gotten their children for Christmas. Maybe they were laughing at Uncle Harry, who had been a bit overzealous with a summoning charm that morning and was still sporting the remnants of a black eye from his broomstick. Rose smiled and turned back to face Lucy, to find two small tears gently tracking their way down her cheek.

"Luce?" Rose asked. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" Lucy's head snapped around and her eyes widened, as though she had just remembered Rose was there. "Oh," she hurriedly dragged her hand across her face, removing the tears but smearing her makeup. "Nothing. Just—it's just the holiday."

"The holiday?"

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "The holiday. Everyone together."

Rose raised her eyebrows, but simply leaned back next to her cousin. "It is nice having us all here together, isn't it?" she said, smiling slightly at the scene in front of her. "It's lovely to have the whole family together."

"Mhm," Lucy mumbled thickly. She sniffed, and when Rose glanced over she saw that Lucy had started crying again. She didn't say anything this time, just took her cousin's hand and held it, staying there until Grandma Molly stood up and ordered everyone to get to bed.

Rose awoke on Christmas morning to a glistening pile of presents at the foot of her bed and a chocolate-smeared Lily making her way through a box of cauldron cakes.

"Ha'y Chri'ma'," Lily said through a full mouth.

"Happy Christmas," Rose replied, turning to shake Lucy.

"Happy Christmas," Lucy mumbled sleepily, her eyes half-closed as she sat up. "Are there presents?"

"Yup," Rose chirped, sliding out of bed and kneeling by her own pile. "Loads of them."

Without a word they commenced gift opening. Rose tore through her pile, finding among the wrapped packages a book from Dominique entitled _Wrangling Your Mane: a comprehensive guide to charms, potions, and plants to help manage the most unmanageable hair_ , a broomstick servicing kit from Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, and two Holyhead Harpies tickets from the Potters. Finally, one package remained, one that Rose had purposely left for last as she recognized her mother's handwriting on the card. It was obviously a book, and a large one at that. Picking it up took more effort than Rose would have liked to admit. She set the package in her lap and quickly tore the paper away. When she was done she stared open-mouthed at the embossed leather cover in front of her, inlaid with tiny stones.

"What's that?" Lily asked, scooting closer to Rose and peering over her shoulder.

"A book of runes," Rose said as she flipped open the cover and began reading through the first page, her finger trailing across the runes. "I think it's the _Tales of Beedle the Bard_."

"Is it one of the originals?" Lily asked, her eyes going wide.

"No, probably not," Rose answered, not looking up from the book. "Those are thousands of years old and this one definitely isn't. No, it says right here at the top it's a collector's edition, bound with unicorn hair and in the original runes."

"Blimey," Lily whispered. "That's the most Rose thing I've ever seen."

Rose snorted. "I suppose it is."

They traipsed downstairs an hour later, all dressed in their Weasley sweaters and full of sweets, Rose clutching her new book to her chest. When she caught sight of her mother sitting at the kitchen table she ran toward her and flung an arm around her neck. "Thank you, thank you!" she cried. "I love it, it's the best present I've ever gotten, even better than my broom!"

"I'm glad you like it," Hermione laughed, returning the hug. "It took ages to find."

"Where did you even get it from?" Rose breathed as she pulled away. "I didn't know they still made editions like this."

"They don't usually," her mother said with a wink. "We called in a few favors to track this one down. I thought you'd like a book of runes and there's really no better one to have than Beedle the Bard."

"Can we read through it later?" Rose asked, a smile splitting her face. "You still have your copy, don't you? We can go through them both and see if the translations are the same—"

"That sounds lovely, sweetheart," Hermione said. "We can do that tonight after dinner."

A rumbling went through the kitchen and the very floor began to shake. Rose's head whipped around toward the door. "What the—"

Fred and James burst through the doorway, each holding a box of fireworks and grinning broadly. "Thanks, Dad!" Fred shouted as they scampered across the room and out the backdoor toward the gardens.

"George," Rose's mum glared down the table, "I can't believe you gave them those! What were you thinking?"

Uncle George shrugged and took a hearty drink of tea. "The kids should have fun over the holidays, 'Mione. What's the harm? At least they're using them here and not at school."

"They're dangerous, though, they could set the house on fire!"

"They're not going to set the house on fire," Uncle George laughed, turning to look out the window. "See, they're aiming away from us. They're smart enough to be safe."

"George," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "If they're aiming away from us some of them might hit the garden."

Uncle George shrugged again. "So?"

"So the gnomes."

"Oh." Uncle George set his mug down and looked out the window again. "I didn't think of that. Well, those little guys are usually pretty good about running—"

There was an almighty bang and then several shouts and heavy footfalls from outside the window. Uncle George paled and stood up. "Right, well, I'm just going to go outside and check on them. You know, make sure they know what they're doing." Clad only in his robe and slippers, he ran out the backdoor.

The day passed pleasantly. Rose sat with Albus and Lily, showing them her gifts and promising Albus she would take him with her to the Harpies match. The rest of the family trickled through. Fred and James eventually came back inside with Uncle George carrying an empty box, promising Hermione that no gnomes were harmed. Uncle Bill came downstairs singing God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriff while Aunt Fleur begged him to stop singing "zat 'orrible song" and fussed over Louis' jumper. Lucy and Molly spent the day in the kitchen with Aunt Audrey, making a tiny replica of the Burrow out of gingerbread, complete with tiny moving gingerbread representations of every family member.

The family sat down for dinner that evening with the satiated, tranquil air of those who had enjoyed a truly relaxing and fulfilling holiday. Rose sat between Lucy and Albus, fork already clutched in her hand as Grandma Molly flicked her wand and sent a procession of steaming dishes toward the table.

"Now, before we get started," Grandma Molly said with a pointed look at those who had been about to start eating. Rose lowered her fork sheepishly. Grandma Molly continued, "I'm just so happy everyone's here." She looked around at Dom, who was chatting with Lily about Egypt, and at Uncle Percy, who had been talking to Rose's mum about the case he had just finished at work, and finally at Teddy, who was sitting between Victoire and Uncle Harry. "And I want to propose a small toast to our family, and the holiday, and coming together every year." She waved her wand and a line of goblets paraded from the kitchen, landing in front of each person at the table. Grandma Molly lifted hers and murmured, "cheers," and everyone followed suit. Rose clinked her glass against Albus's and Lucy's and took a sip of the drink, jerking back slightly when the tart wine hit her tongue.

"And now," Grandma Molly said with flourish, "let's eat."

That invitation was enough to make Rose forget her wine. She piled everything she could reach onto her plate and took a bite, releasing a very unladylike but very happy groan. "It sho' good," she murmured to nobody in particular.

"Rose," Lucy sighed beside her, "please don't talk with your mouth full."

Rose swallowed quickly and grinned. "Sorry, Luce. I can't help it sometimes though."

"Everyone keep room for dessert!" Aunt Audrey called out from further down the table. "We've got a gingerbread house that needs eating."

There was a general wave of gratitude as everyone dug into their plates with renewed fervor. Rose surveyed the table, taking in Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur at either end. By Grandma Molly sat Rose's parents, Uncle Percy, and the Potters, with Victoire, Teddy and Dom by them as well. Closer to Rose sat Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, Fred and Roxanne, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, Aunt Audrey and Molly, and Hugo. Everyone except Uncle Percy wore their Weasley sweater, and everyone was chewing or talking languidly. Rose smiled and took another sip of wine, pursing her lips at the unfamiliar taste.

Rose ate one helping of everything, and then two, and then after a short break and another sip of wine, a third helping. "It's delicious, Grandma," she called down the table.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Grandma Molly smiled.

"Yes, Mum, it was wonderful," Uncle Percy said, tapping his mouth with his napkin and standing up. "And I'm afraid I must be off."

"What?" Grandma Molly and Aunt Audrey asked in unison, both staring at Uncle Percy. Grandma Molly's eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed. Aunt Audrey's eyes widened slightly and her lower lip trembled infinitesimally as she said, "Percy, please, I thought you said you could spend the evening with your family."

"I know, dear," Uncle Percy said, giving his wife a small sympathetic smile. "And I really do wish I could but that case isn't quite finished yet and you know we have a deadline."

"Oh, Percy, don't be silly," Grandma Molly broke in. "You're not going anywhere. Sit down and have some more to eat."

"I can't, Mum," Uncle Percy said. "I've got a deadline to meet."

"If I recall correctly, the deadline isn't too soon, though," Aunt Audrey said, lifting her goblet to her lips. "Your work can wait until next week, surely."

"It could, but as I've told you, it would put all our other cases back," Uncle Percy said slowly, as though he were explaining arithmetic to a toddler. "And we simply do not have that sort of time."

"Come on, Perce," Uncle George said with a tepid chuckle. "Stop taking the mick. Sit down and drink a bit more wine."

"I'm not taking the mick," Uncle Percy said stiffly. "And while I appreciate you all wanting me to stay, I really must be off."

"No, you really don't have to," Rose's mother said, her lips forming a thin frown. "You could very well wait and go in tomorrow and get everything done."

"But not up to my usual standards, which are quite high as you well know, Hermione. So, this has gone on long enough. Thank you, Mother for dinner. Thank you, everyone for the gifts and the spirit today. I'll see you all soon."

"Percy," Aunt Audrey said quietly, her lips barely moving. "It's Christmas."

Uncle Percy's patient smile did not waver as he turned toward her again. "I understand, dear. That is why I stayed for dinner." With a curt nod toward the table and a swish of his robes, he was gone.

The table was quiet for a minute and then Teddy turned toward Dom and said loudly, "So I hear you're engaged to an Arabian prince!"

Everyone joined in then, talking too loud about the horrors of the press and how ridiculous the tabloid stories had gotten. Uncle George told a story about a reporter accusing him of really being Fred, saying the two had switched places minutes before Fred's supposed death. Rose sat back and watched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucy staring blankly at her plate. Further down the table, Aunt Audrey was gulping her fourth glass of wine. Molly sat straight in her seat, with the carefully neutral expression on her face she wore whenever she had to scold someone in the hallways.

When the stories and chatter had been exhausted, Grandma Molly waved her wand and sent the dishes flying into the kitchen. "Shall we get dessert, then?" she said brightly.

"I'll get it, Molly," Aunt Audrey said, setting her empty goblet on the table and standing up. "It's our gingerbread, after all and you've already done so much."

"Are you sure, dear?" Grandma Molly asked, her eyebrows pinching together again. "It'd be no trouble—"

"No, no," Aunt Audrey said with a vague wave of her hand. "I insist. You stay where you are." She shuffled into the kitchen and out of sight. Moments later the footsteps resumed, slightly slower. Rose sat up in her seat eagerly, already wanting to get a closer look at her miniature gingerbread likeness. She absently wondered what her hair looked like in gingerbread form.

An almighty _crash_ echoed from the doorway and Rose's head whipped up. Aunt Audrey stood in the entryway surrounded by chunks of iced gingerbread and shards of what had been a ceramic platter. The little gingerbread people floundered on the floor, some of them decimated so that they were unrecognizable, others missing large pieces of their bodies. One, wearing horn rimmed glasses and billowing ministry robes, was trying to limp away from the rest.

Nobody moved for a minute until Aunt Audrey burst into tears and dropped to the floor, shaking violently as she tried to pick up the pieces of broken pottery. Then everybody seemed to move at once. Rose's mother jumped up and hurriedly vanished the gingerbread while Aunt Angelina waved her wand to coerce the broken platter pieces into a pile and Uncle Bill vanished them with a neat flick of his wand.

"Oh, don't worry about it, dear," Grandma Molly said, taking a shaky Aunt Audrey by the elbow and leading her to a vacated seat. "Just sit down for a spell, there you go."

"I'm sorry," Aunt Audrey hiccupped, looking around the room. "I—I don't know—"

"Mum," Molly said slowly, her eyebrows knitting together as she hurried toward her mother, "are you alright?"

Aunt Audrey cried harder.

"Er," Aunt Ginny stood up. "Kids, why don't we all go outside and set up a game of quidditch?"

"Mum, it's freezing," James said. "We can't—"

"I'll cast some heating charms!" Aunt Ginny cried. "Harry, Ron, George, you come too!"

"Yes, of course." Uncle Harry stood up and nodded toward his wife. "Excellent idea. James, Fred, let's get everyone together, shall we?"

"Er, right," James said, looking around wildly as though unsure that it was in fact he who was being given responsibility. "Well, all kids, grab your cloak and let's go to the garden!"

"Mols, why don't you come too," Victoire said, putting a hand on Molly's shoulder. "You can be our reliable referee and mediwitch if we need one."

Rose filed out the door behind Albus and Lily, watching as everyone but her mother, Aunt Angelina and Aunt Audrey did the same. She went upstairs and collected her cloak, bringing Lucy's too as she hadn't come to get it.

The hallway was deserted, as everyone else had made their way outside by now. Rose went back by the kitchen to look for Lucy, who was undoubtedly trying to hide away somewhere, and take her out to the gardens. She found her cousin, however, lurking outside the closed door behind which her mother and aunts sat.

"Lucy!" Rose said, "I've got your cloak, let's go—"

Lucy whipped around and glared at Rose, her index finger shooting to her lips in an unmistakable "Shh!" Rose frowned and crept forward.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, glancing from Lucy to the closed door.

Lucy shook her head and pointed. Then Rose heard voices.

"Are you and Percy fighting again?" her mother whispered tentatively from the other side. "I thought it had gotten better?"

"You have to actually talk to each other to fight," Audrey said dryly. "We haven't talked—really talked to each other in ages."

"But you said he's been home—"

"He's home, but it's like living with a ghost. I don't remember the last time we talked about our days, or about something other than our bloody jobs and the girls."

"But he's been taking so much more of an interest in them," Hermione said.

"Putting pressure on them! Wanting them to succeed so badly that he doesn't see that they're miserable! Molly can handle it; she handles it better than any of us. But Lucy—I worry about Lucy. She feels the pressure and I don't know that she can handle it as well as Molly."

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and glanced at Lucy, whose face had gone blank as she shoved her ear against the door.

"What happens, then?" Angelina asked in a hushed voice. "What are the options? What can you do?"

"Well I can't very well go on like this, can I?" Audrey said. "I don't know. I don't want to put this on the girls. I've tried so hard to keep them out of it." She sighed and there was shuffling and the creak of people shifting on furniture. Audrey took a deep breath and continued, "I suppose there's not much hope of keeping them out of it after tonight."

"They were going to notice at some point," Angelina said. "Maybe it's better that they know. They could help you."

"Maybe," Audrey murmured. "And I think Molly already knew. But Lucy—poor Lucy—my sweet girl. How could I do this to her?"

"You haven't done anything," Angelina said sharply. "You're trying to make the best of the situation. And so is Percy in his own Percy way."

There was another long pause and then the sound of somebody's full weight hitting the cushion and a muffled wail. "I don't know what to do!"

"Audrey, if you're not happy," Hermione hesitated, "if you're not happy you can't stay."

"I know," Audrey's sigh was barely audible through the upholstery and the door. Rose swallowed and leaned closer, watching Lucy do the same, her face drawn. "But it—I can't just walk out on him—"

"But if it's not working—"

"I don't want to be the one to tear the family apart!" Audrey cried. "I can't! It would kill him, it'd kill the girls. It'd kill me!"

"This marriage is killing you!" Angelina said quickly. "Pretending everything is okay when it clearly isn't, is killing you!"

"I just don't know," Audrey mumbled. "I just—I just know I can't continue on like this. But I don't know where we go from here."

"Well, let's get some rest," Hermione said. "And tomorrow, I think you and Percy need to talk. I mean properly talk."

There was shuffling and muffled weeping. Rose turned to Lucy open mouthed, her eyebrows drawing together, unsure what she had just heard or what to say about it. "Luce, I— _what_ —"

Lucy simply stood ramrod straight, her face blank and staring at the door as her mother's tears filled the air. "I can't say I'm terribly surprised," she muttered, not looking at Rose.

"I—but—" Rose sputtered, turning back to the door, her mouth working feverishly without any sound coming out. "But—your mum! And your dad!"

Lucy merely shrugged.

"But—did—" Rose hesitated, shoulders sagging as she studied her cousin and then asked quietly, "Did you know?"

"It wasn't very difficult to see," Lucy mumbled, tugging at the end of her hair and chewing on her lip.

Rose paused and ran a hand through her hair. "But—you never said anything—"

"I didn't see any reason to," Lucy said tonelessly, her gaze moving to the floor.

Rose's eyes snapped to her cousin. She frowned, fighting a quaver in her voice as she whispered, "Why didn't you tell me? Luce, I could've helped, could've—"

Lucy breathed in sharply. "Could've what, Rose?" She finally looked up, her face drawn, eyes blazing in a way Rose had never seen before. Lucy's mouth twisted and she stepped forward. "You could've listened to me tell you that I don't think my parents love each other anymore so that you could go on to tell me about your perfect family and your own parents who are still in love?"

Rose's mouth dropped open and she squeaked, "I wouldn't—"

"Yes you would!" Lucy cried, throwing her hands up. "That's what you do every time someone tells you a problem, you listen and then you just talk about how you don't have that problem, how your life is so great and so perfect—"

"No I don't—"

Lucy's face contorted and she said in a falsely high-pitched voice, "Oh, you got a P on your essay? Well I know how you feel because I got an O but the professor made a small correction so I'm going to fail because I'm Rose and nothing bad ever happens to me."

Rose shrank back as though struck, whispering, "I don't do that."

Lucy ignored her, continuing with her imitation. "Oh, Lucy, your dad thinks you're a failure? That's too bad, let me tell you all about my dad and how lovely he is and how he always tells me how brilliant I am. Won't that make you feel better?"

"I wouldn't have said that!" Rose cried, her voice growing thick as she held back tears. "That's not fair, Luce, you should've told me—"

"It wasn't hard to see, Rose, if you would just pay attention to someone other than yourself for five minutes!" Lucy shrieked. Tears began to leak out the corner of her eyes and she stamped her foot as she yelled. "No one else in the family is surprised! You're always just so bloody wrapped up in yourself and your sodding books!"

Tears now ran freely down Rose's cheeks and she didn't bother to wipe them away as she yelled back, "That's not true!"

"You've no idea how terrible I've felt this entire year!" Lucy cried, her own tears now breaking free and storming down her cheeks. "Getting letters every week from my dad about how I need to be doing better in school because when Molly was in fourth year she had all Os, how I need to join more clubs because Molly was in six and was president of three, how I need to think hard about what I want to do after school because those accelerated programs aren't open to just anyone. Honestly, if it weren't for Allie I don't know what I would have done!"

Rose paused. She swallowed, feeling mucus and bile stick to her throat. "You told Allie?" she whispered, eyes widening. A tear dripped off her chin and landed on the floor with a gentle _pink_ that went unnoticed by both girls.

Lucy stared at Rose for a moment, her lower lip caught between her teeth. At last she said, "Yes. She's a good listener."

Rose felt her chest tighten, though it seemed the tears had stopped. She took a step forward. "You told Allie and not me?"

"I didn't think you'd care much, honestly," Lucy said stiffly.

"Luce," Rose reached out, searching for Lucy's hand. "How could you say that? Of course I—"

Lucy recoiled, drawing into herself and backing away from Rose. "Stop," she muttered, shaking her head. Tears continued to wind their way down her cheeks, getting lost in the collar of her jumper. "Just stop, Rose."

"But—"

"I'm going upstairs." Without another word, Lucy turned on her heel and fled. Rose stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the floor until she heard gentle footsteps at the door frame.

"Did you hear everything?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Hermione whispered, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Rose. "Are you alright?"

Rose didn't answer, merely put her head on her mother's shoulder and burst into fresh tears. "Lucy hates me," she sobbed. "She hates me."

"No she doesn't," her mother crooned, running a hand through her hair. "She's probably very confused and upset and hurt right now, but I don't think she hates you."

"She didn't tell me—"

"She's got a lot to worry about right now."

"But I'm her cousin! I'm her best friend!"

"So now that you know, you need to do everything you can to be there for her," Hermione said firmly. "Talk to her. Let her know you love her."

"But she doesn't want to talk to me!"

"Give her some time, Rosie. I don't know what's going to happen, but this may get worse. And then Lucy's going to need a friend and you're going to have to be there for her."

"I'm trying—"

"I know you are. But these things take time." Hermione patted her on the back of the head and gave her a squeeze before sighing deeply. "You still have so much to learn. We all do."

* * *

A/N: Ah, teenage angst. This chapter hurt to write; I hate seeing my babies in pain. Thank you all for reading and please review! :)


	20. Chapter 19

Rose awoke late on Boxing Day feeling as though she had swallowed a bludger. She rolled over, shoving hair out of her face, and felt the lump rise to her throat as the events of Christmas came back to her.

After her argument with Lucy, Rose had spent the remainder of the evening downstairs with her mother, translating runes and drinking multiple cups of tea until the sky outside had faded to black and the adults began drifting upstairs. Rose, after another cup of tea and encouragement from her mother, had tentatively gone upstairs to the room she shared with Lily and Lucy, an apology ready on her lips and a conciliatory mug of chamomile in her hands. When the door creaked open, she had found Lucy fast asleep, damp cheeks glistening in moonlight and the blankets pulled tightly around her thin frame. Rose had stared at her cousin for a moment, torn between relief that Lucy was peaceful and quiet, and disappointment that she had missed her chance to talk to her that night. As quietly as she could, she set the tea down onto the bedside table, in case Lucy wanted it when she woke up, and crawled into the cot that Lily usually slept in, resolving to talk to Lucy the next morning.

Rose stumbled downstairs, still in her pajamas and rubbing her eyes. She found her mother and Aunt Ginny sitting at the kitchen table, sipping tea and whispering over a large plate of toast.

"Morning," Rose yawned, taking the seat beside Aunt Ginny and pulling the toast forward.

"Good morning, Rosie," Aunt Ginny said evenly, watching her over her mug. "Did you sleep alright last night?"

Rose swallowed and nodded slowly. "Er, yeah. Lucy was asleep already when I got upstairs and I didn't hear Lily come in."

"No, she slept with the other girls last night," Aunt Ginny replied, taking a small sip of tea. "We thought it'd be best to give everyone a little space."

"Right," Rose said softly, ducking her head. She took another bite of toast and then looked up at her mother. "Have you seen Lucy? She wasn't there when I woke up."

Her mother hesitated and took a sip of tea before giving Rose a small smile. "She left, I'm afraid. Aunt Audrey thought it'd be best if she and the girls spent the rest of the holidays with her parents in Ireland."

"Oh." Rose blinked.

"They don't see that side of the family very often," Hermione murmured, putting a hand over Rose's. "But you'll see Molly and Lucy on the train back to school."

"Right," Rose nodded, dropping her half-eaten toast back onto the plate. She wasn't really very hungry. "Did she say anything before she left?"

"No, sweetheart." Hermione shook her head. "I think she had a lot on her mind."

"Mhm," Rose mumbled. She pushed her chair out and got to her feet. "I think I'm going to go read, then."

"Would you like to do some more translations together?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "I'd like to be alone."

The rest of the holidays passed quickly. Rose spent much of her time alone in her and Lily's bedroom deciphering runes. Everybody, even Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur, took care not to mention the impromptu departure of Aunt Audrey, Molly and Lucy, or the fact that Uncle Percy hadn't returned to the Burrow since Christmas. The adults all seemed tense, often whispering with bent heads and stopping abruptly when one of the kids entered the room. Nobody seemed in much of a mood to do anything; Rose felt guilty the few times she played exploding snap with Albus or quidditch with Fred, as though she was letting Lucy down. The Burrow now seemed unnaturally quiet, with nobody knowing what to say about what had happened and so avoiding the topic altogether. All in all, Rose was relieved when it came time to go back to Hogwarts, where she could escape the cloud of her aunt and uncle's crumbling marriage and the rest of the family's consequent discomfort.

* * *

Platform Nine and Three Quarters whistled and clanged as always, but Rose ignored the chaos as she boarded the Hogwarts Express with Albus. Crowds of students had already overtaken the train, flooding it with a sea of robes and cloaks. Rose stood on her toes in the middle of the corridor, peering over the crowd in search of a bouncing red ponytail.

"Rose," Albus said, taking her elbow and pulling her forward. "Come on. We need to get a compartment."

"I want to wait for Lucy," Rose frowned, jerking her arm away and craning her neck.

"She'll be able to find us," Albus said patiently. "But if we don't have a compartment we'll just be wandering the train all day."

"But what if she doesn't know we want her to sit with us?" Rose asked, chewing on her lip as she continued to scan the crowd. "Or she doesn't know where we are?"

"She'll know we want her to sit with us." Albus took Rose's elbow again and gently tugged her to the side. "We always sit together."

"But what if-"

"And I'm sure it won't be difficult to find us, I mean, really, Rosie, you've heard how loud our compartments can be."

"Yes, but she might not—"

"Oy, there they are!" Albus released Rose's elbow and pointed down the corridor, where Lucy and Nathan were walking towards them hand in hand.

Rose's head snapped up and she broke into a grin. "Lucy! Luce!" she called, hurrying forward.

Lucy looked up, her eyebrows knitting together as she saw Rose trotting toward her. "Hi, Rose," she said. Her eyes flickered to Rose's before flitting to Nathan, who smiled at Rose rather uncomfortably as Lucy's eyes dropped to the floor.

"We're looking for a compartment right now," Rose said quickly, flashing a hopeful smile. She looked to Nathan, "I want to hear about your hols. You barely wrote at all." Then she glanced at Lucy, who was still staring determinedly at the floor. "And we can—well you—I mean, you should tell us about Ireland."

"Oh," Lucy blinked and nodded stiffly. Her hands rose to her ponytail, tugging at the ends. "Ireland was lovely," she said. "Have you ever met my Nana and Granddad Daley?"

"Er, no, I don't think so," Rose said, watching Lucy contemplate the floor.

"Hm, that's what I thought," Lucy murmured vaguely. She paused and then added, "They're great."

"Er," Rose looked to Nathan, who was watching Lucy with a knitted brow and frown. "Maybe I can go with you to visit them soon. That'd be fun, yeah?"

"Mhm," Lucy nodded and twisted a lock of hair around her index finger. "Well, anyway," she said, still not looking at Rose, "Nathan and I were actually going to get our own compartment. But thank you for the offer. Maybe we'll join you lot later."

Rose's face fell. "Just come sit with us for the first bit? I wanted to talk to you-"

"We'll talk later," Lucy said. She brushed her ponytail over her shoulder and looked up. Her expression was not hostile, to Rose's relief, but not inviting either; her mouth was levelled into a straight line and the skin around her eyes was smoothed into a mask of neutrality that might have been convincing had Rose not known better. "We'll have to see each other tonight, after all."

The corners of Rose's mouth tugged down as she stared at Lucy. The bludger-sized lump began forming in her throat again as she tried to keep her own expression even. "But—dthat's not what I meant—I want to talk to you alone—to, you know—"

"There's not very much to talk about," Lucy murmured. "And anyways," she straightened and tucked behind her ear a piece of hair that had fallen free of her ponytail, "we'd best be off. All the compartments will be filled soon."

"Wait, Luce," Rose said feebly, watching Lucy brush past Albus. "We wanted-"

"Good luck finding a compartment," Lucy called as the crowd swallowed her.

Rose stared as Lucy and Nathan disappeared. When the last traces of a red ponytail had melted into the conglomeration of black Hogwarts robes, she turned to Albus, her expression twisting. "Why didn't she—"

"She looks like she wants to be left alone," Albus said, shifting uncomfortably. "And, er, I suppose we ought to find a compartment then?"

Rose gave her best attempt at a nonchalant shrug and drew a breath. "I suppose."

They continued down the corridor in silence until Rose came to a halt, turning to Albus with wide eyes. "Al?" her lower lip trembled and she bit it hard to keep it still. "Why won't Lucy talk to me?"

Albus ran a hand through his hair and rocked his feet. "I dunno, Rosie. But," he put an arm around her shoulder and gave her an awkward side hug, "she'll come around."

"You think so?" Rose whispered into his shoulder.

"Yeah," Albus nodded, his chin knocking against the top of her head. "Don't worry too much. It's Lucy. She loves you. She'll come back."

Lucy did come back, in a way. She sat with Rose at dinner and asked to borrow a quill two nights later to finish her charms essay and shared the tin of fudge Grandma Molly sent. But she didn't say anything more about her parents, or about Ireland, or about the letters she received every other morning from a strange barn owl. And when Rose asked, Lucy changed the subject, or merely dropped off into silence. Rose couldn't help the feeling that though Lucy didn't appear angry anymore, she still hadn't gotten her best friend back. Worse still, she didn't know how to go about fixing things.

* * *

January and February slipped by in their dreary way. Rose found herself spending most evenings with Maren working through their pile of homework or else discussing quidditch. Lucy and Allie disappeared together often, something which caused Rose's chest to ache but she tried valiantly to ignore. Some nights she found herself staring at Allie, at her sleek blonde curls and unfreckled face, the way she furrowed her brow and listened contemplatively whenever somebody spoke to her, the easy grace of her mouth as it curved into a smile. Some nights Rose felt only affection for her friend, who did seem a bit more subdued since the dissolution of her relationship with Scorpius and yet still spent hours in the common room trying to cheer up Lucy. Other nights, though, a bitterness filled Rose's mouth and ungenerous thoughts floated through her mind. Allie was stealing Lucy away; Allie should mind her own bloody business. But no, Rose reminded herself, that wasn't fair. None of this was Allie's fault and anyways, Allie had just had a breakup. She needed friends too.

After Allie and Scorpius's breakup, Allie had gone back to sitting beside Rose in ancient runes and Nathan moved to sit beside Scorpius. Rose didn't mind the change. Her friendship with Nathan had cooled slightly since the holidays and she couldn't help the sinking feeling that it was in large part because of her distance from Lucy. Allie was a good person to spend time with, too. Some days she came in looking like a lost puppy and whispering that she hated boys, and she and Rose spent the entire class period making plans to run off to London together and never get married. Other days, they spent their time listing the fittest boys in the school and planning their Victory Ball dresses. Rose always felt a rush of affection for Allie during these times, when they planned their weddings to professional quidditch players (Rose was to marry the Falmouth Falcons seeker and Allie had her eye on a Puddlemere United chaser) and changed their minds again and again on which dress they would wear to the ball. It was nice, Rose thought, to have her friend back.

February moved into March and excitement over the upcoming Victory Ball spread through the fourth year girls like wildfire. To everyone's delight, Dominique sent a stack of catalogues from various European shops, encouraging the girls to "find what makes you feel like a Veela!" The four Ravenclaw girls spent well over a week cooped up in their dormitory tearing through the pages, asking opinions, and sending letters begging their parents for the perfect dress. Rose and Maren nearly came to blows one night when it came out they had picked the same dress. A duel was narrowly avoided when Rose conceded that red would, in fact, clash with her hair and decided to wear her other choice, which was blue, instead.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" she breathed to Katrina DeMarco one evening at quidditch practice, showing her the picture from the catalogue.

"I love it," Katrina sighed. "That shade of blue will look fantastic on you."

Rose flushed and grinned. "And did you see the pixie dust on the skirt?"

"Oy, Weasley! DeMarco!" Henry Winkle shouted from across the pitch, scowling. "Can you talk about dresses later and get over here with the rest of the team?"

"Sorry, Henry!" Rose called, shoving the picture back into her pocket and flying over toward the goal hoops, where the team was hovering.

"Honestly," Henry rolled his eyes. "You're acting like such bloody girls you're making me wish I had all blokes on the team."

"Now, Winkle," Gabriel Herrick smirked. "I don't know about you, but I quite like having birds on the team." He glanced around the circle, his eyes landing on Rose's, and winked. "It makes everything more fun."

Rose flushed again and bit the inside of her cheek, her broom drifting a bit closer to Katrina.

"Shut it, Herrick," Henry barked. "Now, since everyone's finally here, can we please run the drills? And if I see another picture of a dress come out during practice, you're all staying after and flying laps until you can't walk straight."

The excitement only escalated at the end of March when Roxanne stood up in the Great Hall and shouted across the tables to ask Maren if she'd like to go to the ball with Zeno Aylmer.

"Sure!" Maren yelled back. "Let him know my dress is red!"

After that it seemed to Rose everyone was finding dates. Lucy had Nathan of course, and even Allie had been asked by a stammering, red-faced Matthew Corner. Rose giggled and grinned with all her friends and took the mickey out of Maren and Allie until she ran out of jokes to make. In class the next week she made a note to tell Theo that her dress was blue.

Their broom cupboard meetings had become less frequent as Rose had been preoccupied with Lucy and quidditch, but nevertheless about once a week they managed it. Rose waited patiently for him to catch her wrist on the walk back one night, or else to stop her in the hallway between classes and ask if she'd like to go to the ball. It wasn't likely to be a romantic, over-the-top affair, she thought, but that was okay. In fact, she preferred it that way. It was easy and without expectations, just like their friends-slash-snogging-partners-slash-not-dating relationship.

"Are you excited for the ball?" Rose asked Theo one Thursday evening as they were stepping out of a broom cupboard. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and smiled, hoping the warmth of her cheeks was from the tight quarters of the broom cupboard and not from the overwhelming nervousness gnawing at her stomach.

"I suppose," he shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I reckon it's a lot more exciting for girls than blokes, though."

"Oh, I don't know," Rose said vaguely. "Boys get all the excitement of asking a girl."

Theo snorted and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's really exciting."

"Why not?" Rose slowed and cocked her head to the side. "It seems like it should be."

"Nah." Theo shook his head and grimaced. "Just nerve-wracking. It's scary, you know, asking someone. What if they say no?"

Rose rolled her eyes but grinned. "Ask someone who you know won't say no."

"Thanks for the advice," Theo said dryly, giving her a sideways glance. "I'll try to remember that."

"Glad to hear it," Rose said, chewing on her lip as her cheeks and neck burned even warmer. "And, er," she hesitated, "you know the ball's rather important to most girls."

Theo raised his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "So, er," she tugged at the ends of her hair and watched the floor, "you should ask someone soon because it would probably make them really happy."

Theo's eyebrows lowered and knit together and a few seconds passed before he slowly nodded and responded, "Yeah, okay. I'll, uh, I'll do that."

"Right. Good." Rose bit her lip again and glanced up at him. "So do you-do you want to go to the common room?"

One eyebrow went up. "You're okay with actually sitting with me in the common room where your family can see you?"

"Oh, er," Rose stammered. "I have—I told Maren I'd meet her there later."

"Oh." Theo paused. "Okay."

As March melted to April and Theo still made no move to ask Rose to the ball, she began fretting to Maren.

"What if he doesn't want to ask me?" she hissed across her bed, on which they were both sprawled.

"Don't be silly." Maren flipped a page of _Quidditch Quarterly_. "He's mad about you."

"I know he likes me," Rose said, flushing as Maren turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Well, I do! Otherwise he wouldn't snog me. But what if he doesn't want to take me to the ball?"

"Why wouldn't he want to take you to the ball if he wants to snog you?" Maren asked. "Everybody knows if you want to snog a girl then you _should_ take her to the ball."

"Well what if he doesn't know that?"

"Then he's thicker than a troll and you should drop him right now."

"Maren!" Rose groaned, flopping onto her back. "You're not helping."

"Rose, honestly," Maren rolled her eyes. She tossed her magazine to the side with a huff and fell onto her stomach beside Rose. "He's going to ask. Just relax. He's probably just nervous is all. I mean, it took him ages to properly talk to you."

"But that was different! We didn't know each other!"

Maren shrugged. "Maybe it's not different to him."

"Urgh." Rose covered her face with a pillow and groaned. "Why are boys so daft? I just want him to ask me."

"Why don't you stop being such a baby and put on your big girl trousers and ask him?" Maren said, picking up her magazine again. "Problem solved."

Rose peeked out from behind the pillow, her eyebrows drawing together. "Ask him?"

"Yes," Maren said. "There's no reason for you to wait for Vance to do it."

"But-" Rose trailed off.

"If you're tired of waiting for him to ask then do it yourself."

Rose bit her lip. "Do you think it's what Elizabeth Bennet would do?"

"Who?" Maren looked over her shoulder.

"Elizabeth Bennet." Rose sat up. "From _Pride and Prejudice_."

"She's the one who rejected the rich bloke because she thought he was a tosser, right?"

"Yes."

"Then yeah," Maren grinned. "I think she would."

And so on a Monday in April, in the broom cupboard across from the one-legged suit of armor, Rose pulled away from Theo and took a deep breath.

"Alright?" he asked, breathing a little ragged as his hands loosened their hold on her waist.

"Yeah," Rose breathed. She bit her lip and looked at him as best she could in the dim light of the cupboard. "Just—I had—had a question."

"Oh?" Theo's head went to the side and though Rose could only make out the outline of his form, she knew he was smiling. "What was that?"

Rose chewed her lip for a second longer and played absently with the collar of Theo's shirt. "Would you," she paused and took a deep breath before saying all in one breath, "Doyouwannagototheballwithme?"

Silence.

Rose felt her face flame up and hurriedly muttered, "Sorry, I didn't say that well. I—er—asked if—if you would want to go to the ball? With me?"

"I heard you." Theo's voice was pained and sounded as though he were miles away. His hands fell from her waist and he took a step back, hitting the wall of the cupboard with a faint _thump_. "Rose, I can't."

"I know you said it's more exciting for girls," she cut him off. "But it would be fun! I've never gone before and I already have a dress—it's blue! We could just go for a little bit-"

"I'm going to the ball," Theo said, a hand coming up to cover his face. "I'm just—I'm going with someone else."

"What?" Rose froze, her jaw clamping shut as she stared at Theo's dark form.

"I asked Helena last week," he said quietly, his voice muffled from his hand. "After—after you said I should ask someone."

Rose didn't respond, her mouth opening and closing furiously but not emitting any sound.

"I didn't think you'd want to go with me," Theo continued, speaking to her feet.

"Why wouldn't I want to go with you?" Rose whispered, finally finding her voice. A familiar lump had risen in her chest and now stuck to the back of her throat.

"Your family would be there," Theo muttered. "And everyone would see us—you and me—there together. I thought you didn't want that."

"But why wouldn't—"

"You didn't want anyone to know."

"But it's not like that—"

"I thought if I asked you, you'd say no," Theo continued, his feet shifting and knocking into the containers of magical cleaners which littered the floor. "So I thought it'd be better to just not ask. And then you told me I should ask someone—"

"I didn't mean ask someone else!"

"Well I didn't know that!" Theo cried, voice cracking. "I wanted to ask you but thought if I did it would ruin whatever we had going on and I didn't want that so I thought it'd be less awkward for both of us if I just took someone else. And I know Helena and I told you about her so I thought-I thought it would be a good solution."

"Oh," Rose chewed her lip, not trusting herself to say much more.

"If I'd've known—"

"Why her?" Rose cut in, voice hardly above a whisper. "Why not anyone else? Someone you didn't-"

"I know her," Theo said with a sigh. "And-I don't know-it seemed like you wanted me to take someone and I didn't want to go with a stranger and since I couldn't take you, she's the next person I'd want to go with and I enjoy spending time with her and—and—I dunno, Rose. I didn't think you'd mind, really-"

"No," Rose said thickly, shaking her head furiously as she looked away. "Why would I?"

"I'm—" Theo stopped and tentatively reached forward, taking her gently by the arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd want to—"

"It's fine," Rose said, wiggling her arm free and turning toward the door. "But I'd—I should go."

"You don't—"

"Goodnight." She pushed the door open and burst out into the corridor without caring who might be walking by. The candlelight of the hallway made her blink and she stood still for a moment, gulping the free air before releasing a sob and running back to Ravenclaw Tower.

* * *

"So that's it?" Maren whispered from her perch on Rose's bed. "He just—"

"He just thought I wouldn't want to go with him," Rose nodded, turning to her side so her face was level with Maren's knee. "Because I never wanted to snog him in the common room."

"Well that's rubbish," Maren said, a hand running through Rose's hair which spilled out across the blankets.

Rose didn't respond, just nestled a little closer to her friend's legs.

"He must be even thicker than I thought," Maren continued. Rose twisted to look up and found her friend smiling at her. "If he asked Helena Barbaruff instead of you."

"Why's that make him thick?" Rose rolled her eyes, turning over onto her back. "She looks like a sodding model."

"And she's a good flyer and a prefect," Maren added. Rose glared and Maren shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"So why's he thick for asking her instead of me? It sounds like she's better at everything."

"Nah, I hear she's not nearly as funny as you. And anyways, she already ditched him once." Maren resumed running a hand through Rose's hair. "It doesn't matter how pretty someone is if they've already ditched a bloke once for no reason and have no sense of humor."

"He didn't say she ditched him, he said they just kind of stopped—"

"Like how you and Theo now have 'kind of stopped'?" Maren raised her eyebrows.

"We haven't stopped anything really," Rose mumbled. "Should we?"

"I dunno," Maren shrugged. "I think it'd be a bit stupid to carry on now. And Merlin knows what's going to happen at the ball."

"He said nothing would—"

"Did he?"

"Yes—well—" Rose trailed off, racking her brain. "No," she sighed. "He just said he was sorry."

"He's a sorry prat," Maren shook her head. "A sorry, troll-brained, dung-headed git."

"Oh, Maren, no he's not," Rose said, sitting up and facing her friend. "You know he didn't mean it to happen like this."

"Doesn't change the fact it did," Maren said softly, her dark eyes coming to rest on Rose's as she gave a wry smile.

Rose deflated. She sank down to rest her head on Maren's shoulder. "I feel like shite."

"And you look like it too."

"Shut it," Rose swatted Maren in the arm, but her voice lacked any real anger. She took a deep breath and said in a much smaller voice, "I just don't know what happened."

"Boys are dumb," Maren answered, "that's what happened."

"Albus and Nathan aren't dumb."

"They are, we just forgive them for it because we especially like them. But that's what my dad always says: boys are just dumb, every last one of them. Even your Theodore Vance."

"Thelonius."

"What?" Maren shifted to stare at Rose, her mouth twitching. "What was that?"

"Er," Rose bit her lip to keep a small smile from sneaking through, "Thelonius. His name's Thelonius, not Theodore."

A small burst of laughter escaped Maren's lips and she sat up straighter. "Theo's full name is Thelonius Vance?"

"The fourth."

Maren snorted and relaxed slightly, her dark hair tickling Rose's cheek. "I am sorry, you know," she said softly. "About all this. I wouldn't have told you to go and ask him if I didn't think he'd say yes."

"It's not your fault," Rose whispered, snuggling closer and shoving her face into Maren's sleeve. "Thanks for listening." She turned briefly to eye Lucy and Allie's empty beds and allow the dull pang in her chest to sharpen into something much more painful. "I had to talk to someone about it."

"You know I'm here." Maren slung an arm around Rose's shoulder. "But now whenever I come back to the dormitory crying over a bloke, I expect you to be here waiting with a box of Honeydukes."

Rose let out a quiet giggle and the pain in her chest receded as she smiled into Maren's arm. "Deal."

* * *

Though neither Rose nor Theo said anything about what had happened, a tacit agreement seemed to have been reached that whatever their relationship had been, it no longer was. The broom cupboard meetings came to an abrupt halt and corridor conversations between classes were reduced to a small wave or nod of the head. Maren, to her credit, said little when Rose walked past Theo with only a smile. Lucy, after asking Rose if she'd yet asked Theo to the ball and receiving a shrug and vague, 'it simply didn't work out,' seemed to accept the change of events without further thought.

Allie wasn't quite as easy to convince, as she slid into her seat in ancient runes with a frown on her face and barely set her books down before whispering, "What happened with you and Theo?"

Rose quelled the urge to sigh and lay her head on Allie's shoulder. She merely shrugged. "You know how these things go," she said, taking out a roll of parchment and quill. "It just didn't work out."

Allie furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean it didn't work out?" she pressed. "Just last week you were going to ask him to the ball—"

"Plans changed," Rose said curtly, opening her book to the translation they had been assigned the week before.

"Rose," Allie said gently, laying a hand on her forearm, "you can tell me what happened."

Rose bit her lip and glanced around the room, at Professor Scribner distributing graded translations, students whispering behind textbooks, and Scorpius and Nathan behind her discussing whether Ravenclaw or Slytherin had better chances of taking the quidditch cup. "It was really nothing," she whispered, looking down at her book and letting a curtain of hair fall between her and Allie. "Just a misunderstanding that was a bit too much."

"Okay." Allie squeezed her arm and then let go. "And you're okay with it?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

"If you say so." Even with her gaze trained on her work, Rose could feel Allie's eyes on her. "If you're not, though, that's okay too."

Rose bit her lip and nearly looked up. "Thanks. But I'm really okay, Allie. Promise."

Rose carefully maintained her disinterested facade over the next two weeks, responding to the dwindling questions with a shrug and flick of her hair. Only those who knew her best and cared to notice saw that she had tucked the sparkling blue dress into her trunk and assiduously avoided the Ravenclaw common room. She took to spending large amounts of time alone in the library or on the quidditch pitch, hiding from probing questions and Theo Vance behind her books and broomstick. She was sitting at a table in a quiet corner of the library, immersed in _The Catcher in the Rye_ when Allie dropped into the seat beside her.

"Er, hi," Rose said, peering over the top of her book.

"Hi, Rosie," Allie responded cheerfully, taking out her charms textbook. "Mind if I join?"

"I suppose not," Rose muttered. "I'm just reading."

Allie nodded and they worked in silence for a moment until the blonde suddenly looked up and asked, "Did I ever tell you about why Scorpius and I broke up?"

"Er—what?" Rose's eyebrows shot up and she set the book down on the table. "No—er—no, you didn't, but—" She had been about to say 'but I didn't ask," and thought better of it, choosing instead to murmur, "It's private. You really don't have to."

"Ta," Allie waved a hand airily. "T'wasn't anything bad."

"Oh?" Rose asked, trying to keep the surprise off her face.

"Nope," Allie shrugged. "Things just happened."

"Mhm." Rose bit her lip, comprehension beginning to dawn. "I see."

"We just," Allie paused and twirled a lock of hair around her finger before continuing, "it's not that we didn't _like_ each other anymore. I still think he's brilliant, but I realized the only reason we were still dating was because neither of us particularly cared enough to break up."

"I-what?" Rose frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It-" Allie chewed her lip and then gave Rose a small smile. "It was because of Lucy and Nathan, actually, and then you and Theo."

"Me and Theo?"

"Yes." Allie nodded and let go of the piece of hair. Rose watched as it sprung back into place. "You were both so excited and happy."

"You and Scorpius looked pretty happy," Rose murmured, thinking back to the pair walking down High Street in Hogsmeade.

Allie shrugged again. "I like spending time with him. But I like spending time with him as much as I like spending time with you or Lucy or Albus."

"So?" Rose frowned. "Was that a problem?"

Allie raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked. "I thought you'd be the one who'd understand the most, from all your books." She gave Rose a pointed look. "None of the girls in those books ever end up with a bloke they only like as much as they like their friends, do they?"

"Er, no—"

"No, they all end up with the bloke who's exciting and made them do mad things."

"Allie, I—"

"And I know you're okay with what happened with Theo," Allie continued without pause. "So, I dunno, maybe you don't really care what happened with me and Scorpius—"

"Allie, you know I do. I'm your friend—"

"Seeing as you barely acknowledged the fact we were dating. But, anyways, I'm not too upset about that." Allie tugged at the curl again, so that it bounced around her ear. "It was rather nice to have one friend who wanted to talk about something other than my boyfriend."

"Allie—"

"Rose, I'm just saying that maybe Theo didn't make you do mad things and maybe you're really okay with what happened but if he—I dunno—if you really like him, whatever happened, you can get past it."

"Oh." Rose swallowed. "You think?"

"Yeah," Allie nodded, a small smile creeping across her face. "I do."

Rose felt her chest swell for a moment, but then implode a moment later. She hadn't told Allie about Helena Barbaruff, hadn't told her that she'd barely spoken to Theo in two weeks, that she had no desire to resume their broom cupboard meetings knowing he was going to the ball with a smart quidditch player who looked like a model. "Thanks, Allie," she said quietly. "I—I don't think that's quite true, though."

"Just try, yeah?" Allie said, putting a hand over Rose's. "If you think it's worth it, just try. If it's not worth it," she squeezed Rose's hand and returned to her charms book, "well, then it might be good to move on."

"Right." Rose picked up her book again and stared at the page. "I can do that."

* * *

Moving on and putting the whole ordeal behind her was, Rose found, much more difficult than it seemed, especially when she still found herself avoiding the Ravenclaw common room most evenings. This was made slightly better by the looming quidditch finals and Henry Winkle's encouragement of his players practicing on their own outside of scheduled times. Rose took full advantage of the fact that the pitch was open most afternoons and spent hours flying laps and attempting to teach herself new maneuvers. It was one such day that Rose was out on the pitch alone, hoping to fly fast enough to forget the fact that she had seen Theo and Helena eating lunch together earlier, and Helena had been eating off his plate and whispering in his ear.

"Oy! Weasley!" a voice called out. Rose slowed and looked town to see Gabriel Herrick walking onto the pitch, his Comet 870 on his shoulder. He waved and shouted, "Care for a flying partner?"

Rose shrugged and descended until she hovered only about six feet off the ground, peering at Herrick. "What're you doing out here at this hour?"

"Blowing off steam," Herrick responded with a grin. "Trying to ignore the ghastly charms essay I haven't done yet."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "I thought N.E.W.T. students were supposed to be the most responsible ones at school?"

Herrick laughed and slung a leg over his broom. "Who told you that?"

"My mother," Rose said, sticking her nose in the air and then giggling.

"Well," Herrick said as he kicked off, hovering at the same height as Rose, "maybe Hermione Granger was a responsible N.E.W.T. student but I've no intention at all of being one." He ascended, grinning down at Rose as he went.

A high-pitched giggle escaped Rose's lips as she flew up toward him. "No?"

"Nope," Herrick shook his head. "I intend to be positively unruly."

Rose rolled her eyes. "That's quite dull, you know," she said with a crooked grin. "I've got loads of unruly family members who were irresponsible students."

"Do you now?" Herrick asked, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he chuckled.

"I do." Rose nodded solemnly. "The excitement is rather short-lived now, I'm afraid."

Herrick smirked and descended a few feet, so he hovered directly next to her, close enough that if she reached forward she could wrap an arm around his neck. "But it's still exciting for a time, isn't it Weasley?"

Before she could respond, he winked and flew away.

The next day when Rose walked onto the pitch, Herrick was already there, sitting in the stands playing with a snitch.

"Ah, I was starting to think you wouldn't come," he said, capturing the snitch without looking and tucking it in his pocket.

"You were waiting for me?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow as she surveyed the empty pitch.

"Of course," Herrick said, falling into step beside her. "I hate flying alone."

Rose didn't answer, unsure of what to say to such a statement. Instead, she turned her attention to her broom, carefully inspecting the bristles before climbing on. When she kicked off, she heard the gentle scraping across the ground of Herrick doing the same.

"Would you care to start out with a bit of a game to warm up?" Herrick asked, flashing a toothy smile.

"Sure." Rose shrugged, twisting to complete lazy figure-eights in the air. "What's the game?"

"Catch the snitch." Herrick removed the tiny golden ball from his pocket held it up. "Whoever gets it can pick what we do for the rest of the time."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "That's not fair. You're actually a seeker."

"I'll take it easy on you," Herrick said smoothly. "And no matter what, we can work on the Mendelson Dive."

Rose nodded slowly, thinking of the impressive dive Alec Davies had successfully executed at Gryffindor's last match. "Deal."

Herrick released the snitch and made Rose sit with him and count to thirty before they both began circling the pitch searching for the tiny ball. Rose tapped her index finger against her broom handle and chewed the inside of her cheek as she scanned the pitch. She suddenly remembered why she hated being seeker and why she was so terrible at it. It was so bloody boring just sitting on a broom looking for a tiny little flying ball that may or may not appear. She circled the pitch twice before letting out a long groan.

"Herrick, I quit! It's taking too long! Honestly, there's a reason I'm a keeper and not a bloody-" she broke off as a blur of gold near the goal hoops caught her eye.

"What was that, Weasley?" Herrick laughed from the other side of the pitch. "Bored already?"

"No," Rose called back as she flew languidly toward the goal hoops. "No, not at all." The snitch flew further toward the hoop and Rose followed it quietly, not wanting to alert either Herrick or the snitch (did they know if a player was approaching?) that she was closing in.

"Aha!" she shouted as her fingers closed around the cold metal. She held it up triumphantly and flew to the ground, digging her heels into the soft earth to steady herself.

"Nice work, Weasley," Herrick said with an approving nod as he landed beside her. "Slow and steady does the trick, yeah?"

Rose laughed and glanced at the snitch in her hand. "I suppose so." She looked up at Herrick. "You don't seem surprised I caught it."

Herrick shrugged and stepped closer, one hand running through his hair. "I always thought you had the makings of a good seeker," he said as the golden waves reformed. "It just seems I was proven right."

"I think I'm better suited to keeping," Rose murmured, biting her lip as she moved closer to him. He wasn't quite as tall as Theo, but it didn't matter. He still stood six inches taller than her and now, with only centimeters between them, that difference was exaggerated.

Herrick gazed down at her and raised an eyebrow, bending lower as he said, "I'd have to agree. You're a good seeker but an _exceptional_ keeper, Weasley."

Rose opened her mouth to reply but found it otherwise occupied as Herrick descended on her. She pulled away after a few seconds, brow furrowing. "What—"

"Would you like to go to the ball with me?" Herrick asked, still close enough that Rose could feel his breath on her cheek.

She paused. "I'm not sure—"

"It'll be fun," Herrick said, standing up straight again and taking a step back. He ran his fingers through his hair again. "You'll look brilliant in that dress you were showing DeMarco and I heard you telling Thomas the other day that you didn't want to go alone."

Rose flushed crimson as she remembered that conversation with Maren on the way back from practice. She had thought they were alone. Herrick took a small step forward and took her gently by the arm. "You'll have fun, I promise."

Images ran through Rose's head of Maren and Zeno at the ball, Allie and Matthew Corner, Lucy and Nathan. Finally the picture of Theo and Helena, whispering to each other as they danced in a moonlit, secluded corner flashed through her brain. She took a deep breath and looked up at Herrick.

"Okay."

* * *

"Oy, Rosie!"

A hand clamped down on Rose's shoulder as she went to take a bite of her muffin and she paused, swiveling around to see Fred glowering at her. "Er-hi, Freddie."

"Don't Freddie me," he frowned, crossing his arms. "What's this about you going to the ball with Herrick?"

"Oh, that." Rose set down her muffin and turned to fully face her cousin. "He asked me."

"I know that." Fred glared at her. "My question is what in the name of Merlin's saggiest bollock made you say yes?"

Rose shrugged and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Everyone else is taking a date and I thought I might like to as well."

"And you couldn't find anyone else to go with?" Fred narrowed his eyes. "Someone who isn't a royal git?"

"He's not a git," Rose said, crossing her own arms across her chest. "I happen to think he's nice."

"Of course he's nice!" Fred threw his hands in the air. "He's always nice to girls! Especially pretty girls he wants to lead into broom cupboards late at night!"

"And so what if I want to go into a broom cupboard late at night with him?" Rose asked hotly, her ears and neck beginning to heat up as she glared.

Fred visibly blanched. "You're fourteen, Rose," he said severely.

"And I'm old enough to decide who I want to follow into broom cupboards," Rose muttered.

"You shouldn't be following anyone—"

"It's none of your business!" Rose cried, her entire face burning as several heads around her turned to stare. She lowered her voice and whispered furiously, "You're not my dad, Fred!"

"Well someone's got to look out for you at school!" He leaned forward, his own face quite red, and took her by the arm. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"I know plenty well what I'm doing," Rose said, jerking her arm away. "And I'll go into however many broom cupboards I like with whoever I want and there's nothing you can do about it."

Fred's eyes were slits and a vein in his forehead began to pulse violently. "Fine," he muttered. "Go out with as many slimy gits as you like. See if I care." He turned on his heel and stalked back to the Gryffindor table.

"Hmph," Rose huffed as she turned back toward her muffin.

Across the table, Lucy had raised an eyebrow. "You're going to the ball with Herrick?"

"Yes," Rose said, struggling to keep her tone civil. "He asked me yesterday on the quidditch pitch."

"Don't you think he's a bit old for you?" Lucy asked pointedly. "And do you even like him?"

"He's nice," Rose said stiffly, clenching her teeth as she reached for the butter.

"Really?" Lucy raised both eyebrows. "It seems like you're just going with him because Theo—"

"Oh, piss off, Lucy, will you?" Rose bit out, throwing her muffin down and jumping up from her seat. "It's not as though you care anyway." Without waiting for a response, she stomped out of the Great Hall and to ancient runes, where no cousins could follow her.

* * *

May second arrived with unexpected warmth and sunshine. Even the fine weather, though, was insufficient to cut through the frigidity that had engulfed Rose's day-to-day life. She and Lucy had barely spoken in the two weeks since Rose lost her temper over breakfast, Fred had pointedly refused to talk to her, not even bothering to tell her about his plans to extravagantly ask Amalia Villanueva, a Gryffindor in his year, to the ball. Rose flicked her hair over her shoulder and stalked out of the Great Hall that evening, ignoring the confetti falling into her hair and the wild cheering. She still didn't regret agreeing to attend the ball with Herrick. The thought of being the only one of her friends going without a date was enough to strengthen her resolve and anyways, she reasoned, he wasn't a bad kisser.

Classes let out for the day and Rose walked back to Ravenclaw Tower with Maren, the dourness that had permeated her mood for the last two weeks lifting slightly as they discussed how they wanted to do their hair and makeup.

They walked into their dormitory to find Lucy and Allie already there and Allie's new Faerie Lite makeup trunk open in the middle of the floor. Rose looked from the makeup trunk to Allie to Lucy, who hurriedly looked away.

"Oh good," Allie chirped, striding across the room and waving her wand so that Rose's tie loosened itself and flew off, "you're here. I was starting to worry I'd have to go and find you. We've no time to lose if we're all going to look as beautiful as possible in two hours!"

"Er," Rose glanced at Maren, who looked as apprehensive as she felt, "two hours?"

"Yes!" Allie cried. "Two hours to get all of us dressed, our hair and makeup done, and jewelry picked out! Now, Rose, we should probably do your hair first as it'll take the longest."

"Hey," Rose frowned as she self-consciously ran a hand through her curls, which she hadn't bothered to comb that morning.

Allie simply pushed her into a chair and shoved a bottle of Sleekeazy's into her hand. "Apply that until your hair's smooth enough to curl."

Rose nodded and obeyed, conceding that none of them had mastered the curling charm well enough to wrangle her hair un-smoothed.

The next two hours continued in a similar manner, with Allie commanding the other three on what to do, offering opinions on hair styles and teaching Rose how to properly control the Faerie Lite brushes that threatened to cover her entire face in Creamy Cerulean eyeshadow.

"It's just a flick," Allie said, motioning with her wand so that the brushes converged on Rose. "When you want a different shade you just flick to the right or left, depending where it is in the trunk, and then twirl to control them. Got it?"

"Er—"

"Here, I'll do it for you." Allie bent over Rose and spun her wand around her face in intricate patterns that Rose gave up trying to follow as the brushes flew around, applying different shades over her eyelid and below her eyebrows. When Allie finished, she stepped back and Rose caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, the subtle brown and gold shadow sparkling across her eyelid and making her eyes look bigger, wider, and impossibly blue.

"Wow," she breathed, leaning forward. "I didn't know they could look like that."

"That's the power of eyeshadow," Allie grinned. "You look beautiful."

"Allie, when's it my turn?" Maren called from across the room, where she was attempting to straighten her hair and had so far only managed to make it stick straight out from her head.

"You go after Lucy," Allie said, hurrying over and taking Maren's wand from her. "And I told you, you don't aim the charm right at your roots, Maren, you aim it at the middle and then slowly bring it down!"

Eventually, everyone's hair was smoothed and appropriately charmed, everyone's face covered in powders and creams in flattering shades, and everyone clad in their dresses. Molly came up to the fourth years dormitory a few minutes before they were due to meet their dates in the Entrance Hall. Her brown curly hair was pinned in an elegant knot at the nape of her neck and she wore a forest green dress that gathered at her waist and then dropped to the floor, the hem barely kissing the floor.

"Mols, you look beautiful," Lucy murmured, staring at her sister as she walked through the door.

"Thanks, Luce," Molly smiled, her glossy pink lips catching the candlelight as they stretched over the teeth. "You look brilliant as well."

Lucy shrugged. "T'was all Allie's doing," she said, glancing over her shoulder at the blonde who was hurriedly attaching a bracelet around Maren's wrist. "I do hope Nathan likes my dress," she whispered, glancing down at the ivory A-line skirt falling just below her knees.

"I'm sure he'll love it," Molly said. "Now, come here, I've brought the earrings Mum sent for you to wear."

The jewelry was fastened and then the five girls stood in the dormitory, grinning at each other. Rose caught Lucy's eye and gave her cousin a small smile. "You do look lovely, Luce."

Lucy flushed and bit her lip. "Thanks, Rose. So do you."

"You're all stunning," Molly said. "And so grown up. It seems like you were just little first years watching me get ready for my first ball!"

"And now you're head girl and opening up the dance," Allie murmured.

"Yeah," Molly sighed. "Odd to think about it, really. But," she straightened and checked the clock, "shall we head down then?"

The Entrance Hall was crammed with students, all wearing their Victory Ball finery. Rose stumbled down the steps, one hand hitching her dress up. She spotted Fred and Amalia talking to Zeno, Alec Davies and the pretty brunette clinging to his arm, and James and his date Shannon Warrington. Amalia's black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her slinky black dress hugged her hips. Zeno, Rose saw, wore a scarlet shirt underneath his black dress robes. On the other side of the hall, Albus stood awkwardly fiddling with the cuff of his dress robes, next to Nathan, who was scanning the crowded hall and Scorpius Malfoy, whose blond hair was combed back and whose dress robes were perfectly fitted. Scorpius's date Johanna Amal wore a simple dress that fell to just above her ankles, the golden sateen sitting brilliantly against her caramel-colored skin. Rose caught sight of Herrick standing lazily against one of the large oak doors, his golden hair slicked back and his dress robes hanging loosely on his broad frame. He wore a blue shirt underneath, Rose was pleased to see.

The girls dispersed as they met their dates in the hall. Maren joined the Gryffindors and Rose bit her lip as she saw first Zeno and then Fred greet her friend with a grin and a hug. Allie made her way toward Matthew Corner, who stood with a group of Hufflepuff fourth years. Lucy bounced over to Nathan, whose face split into an enormous grin as he tugged her into his side, bending low to say something into her ear. Lucy's cheeks tinged pink and she ducked her head, though not before Rose caught sight of her small, pleased smile.

Rose meandered through the crowd toward Herrick, who smiled as she approached. "Weasley," he nodded in greeting, his eyes roving slowly up and down. "You look fantastic."

"Er, thanks," Rose mumbled, reaching up to tug at a piece of hair but finding nothing as her hair was pinned in some sort of braided knot courtesy of Allie. She instead tugged at her earring. "You look nice as well."

"Had to make sure I looked worthy of such a fit date," Herrick said with a wink. He bent down and swiftly kissed her.

Rose stepped back, startled. "Er—"

"Shall we?" Herrick offered his arm, unperturbed by her reaction.

Rose nodded slowly and took his arm, allowing her to lead her out of the Entrance Hall. As she went she felt several stares lingering on her; out of the corner of her eye she could see Fred's head tracking her and Herrick's movement through the hall. Rose looked straight ahead, refusing to give anyone the satisfaction of catching her attention.

She followed Herrick through the doors to the Great Hall and couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips. The Great Hall was nearly unrecognizable, and nothing short of breathtaking. The long house tables had been cleared away and were replaced with a few dozen small tables that came nearly to Rose's shoulder; elegant candelabras and small orbs filled with what she guessed to be fairy dust hung in the air, casting a soft glow over the room. Up above, the enchanted ceiling displayed an inky night sky studded with bright stars winking and blinking at the students.

"It's beautiful," Rose whispered, eyes widening as she gazed upwards.

"It is nice," Herrick murmured. "Although I don't know why there's no ice sculpture this year."

Rose didn't answer. She didn't care about the ice sculpture, only about the lights and the stars and the stage that had been erected at the far end of the hall.

"Let's get a bit closer," Herrick said, tugging her hand and walking closer to the stage. "They'll probably start the music soon."

Rose followed, silently taking in the rest of the decorations. Herrick led her to the left side of the stage and then let go of her hand. Rose began observing the crowd, which had grown substantially as eager students trickled in from the Entrance Hall. She caught sight of Lucy and Nathan on the other side of the stage, Lucy's eyes wide as she pointed toward the fairy dust orbs. Rose let out a heavy sigh as, for the first time that evening, she let herself feel the loss of her intimacy with Lucy. What fun they would have had discussing the decorations together! How different the afternoon would have been if they could have laughed together over Rose's unfamiliarity with eyeshadow and their incapability to produce a decent curling charm!

Lucy brought her gaze down to look at Nathan, who was brushing something off the shoulder of her dress. She smiled and stood on her toes to give him a small peck on the cheek. When she dropped back down, she blushed and looked furtively around the room, probably checking to see that nobody had seen. Her eyes fell on Rose. Immediately, they flicked away. Lucy turned back to Nathan and took his hand, craning her neck to say something in his ear. He nodded and turned, gently pushing past the people beside them, and disappeared into the crowd.

There was a slight commotion and a smattering of applause as the headmistress appeared onstage, but Rose barely glanced at Aunt Minnie in her tartan dress. She was still staring at the spot where Lucy and Nathan had disappeared.

McGonagall gave a few opening remarks that Rose didn't hear. She continued watching the other side of the room, waiting for Lucy to reappear. Scorpius Malfoy and Johanna Amal stood near Lucy's vacant spot. They were talking amiably, though not touching. Rose wondered whether Scorpius was already dating Johanna, whether he had already moved on from Allie. She hoped not. That just wouldn't be fair, if he got a new girlfriend before Allie even had a proper chance to find a new and better boyfriend. She looked away and then immediately wished she hadn't as her eyes fell to the couple next to Scorpius and Johanna. Theo wore a smart set of dress robes and had a hand on Helena's back, which Rose noticed was not covered by her dusty pink dress.

She shut her eyes and tried to stop the tightness in her chest. When she opened them, she studiously avoided glancing at the other side of the room and moved closer to Herrick. Nice, attractive Herrick, who perhaps could do with a few less charms on his hair, but who was only ever friendly to her and wouldn't snog one girl in a broom cupboard only to ask another to the ball. She stepped closer and nudged him in the arm.

"Hey," he grinned at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I reckon they'll start the music soon enough."

Rose smiled back and put an arm through his. "Brilliant."

The opening remarks ended shortly after and when the band emerged, Rose cheered just as loudly as everyone else. Molly and the head boy, Oliver Collingwood, opened the dance with a short waltz and then the band started up with a much faster tune.

"Ready?" Herrick asked, grabbing Rose's hand and tugging her toward the dance floor. They danced through several songs, some of them slow melodies during which Herrick put a hand around Rose's waist and tugged her much closer than she thought entirely necessary. When a cover of "A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love" played, he bent down and kissed her and Rose responded, letting a hand meander up into his hair and a savage part of her hoping that Theo was watching.

When the song ended and they broke apart, Herrick grinned down at her and loosened his hold. "I'll go find us some drinks, yeah?"

"Okay," Rose nodded as he walked off. She fanned herself as she meandered off the dance floor towards the tables, her face warm from the dancing and snogging. She chose an empty table near the dance floor and rested her elbows on it, watching her classmates mill about and dance. She saw near the perimeter of the dance floor Allie dancing with Matthew Corner, her face screwed up in an approximation of a smile as one of his feet trod none too gently on hers.

"Hey, Rosie."

She turned to see Albus walking toward her, his dark hair hanging in his face and the sleeves of his dress robes rolled up. She smiled.

"Hey, Al."

He leaned on the table and let out a 'phew.'

"Dance too hard?" Rose laughed.

Albus shook a piece of hair from his eyes. "Trying to keep up with everyone. I've been running all over the place trying to find them! Why can't they just stay in one spot?"

Rose snorted. "Maybe they're trying to snog and you're getting in the way."

Albus wrinkled his nose. "Eugh, I hope that's not what Nathan's trying to do."

Rose shrugged. "He and Lucy have been together for a bit now."

"I suppose. But that doesn't make it any less disgusting."

"You only think it's disgusting because you've never kissed anyone."

"Yeah, well," he mumbled, turning his attention to a loose thread on his sleeve. "And, anyways, I know Scorp isn't snogging Johanna but I still have no idea where they've gone."

"Well," Rose began but then decided to bite her tongue. "I haven't really seen anyone either," she said finally. "I was rather hoping to find Maren."

"I think she's with Zeno and Fred and his date," Albus shrugged. "I saw them a few minutes ago by the drinks table."

"Oh." Rose sagged, the thought of facing Fred enough to deter her from seeking out Maren. "I think I'll just stay here. Herrick's coming with our drinks anyway."

Albus peered at her but said nothing.

Rose sat in silence and watched the dancers for a few minutes before turning back to Albus. "Why didn't you bring a date?"

He shrugged. "There was nobody I really wanted to bring. I don't really fancy anyone, and all the girls I'm friends with already had dates."

"Oh," Rose replied lamely. "There was no one else you could ask?"

"Not really," Albus shook his head. "Scorp and I were both just going to go stag, but then Corner asked Allie and he didn't want to be by himself after that, so he asked Johanna."

Rose nodded, hardly listening as she caught sight of Theo and Helena laughing and dancing together. "Mhm."

"And I figured I'd have more fun coming by myself than with a date I didn't really know," Albus continued. "But," he broke off and followed Rose's gaze. "Are you listening?"

"Mhm," Rose hummed vaguely, staring as Helena's blonde hair swished behind her, glistening in the candlelight in a way Rose knew hers never would. "Yeah. Coming alone is more fun."

"Yeah," Albus muttered. "Where is Herrick, by the way? It doesn't take this long to get drinks."

"He'll be along," Rose shrugged, still watching Helena.

Albus didn't answer, drumming his fingers on the table before groaning loudly. "Here comes James," he said in response to Rose's questioning glance. "He's probably pissed."

"Brother!" James exclaimed as he approached, slinging an arm around Albus's shoulder. "And cousin!" he said with equal fervor when he spotted Rose, moving over to wrap a clumsy arm around her and give her a very wet kiss on the cheek. "How're my two favorite little relatives?"

"Brilliant," Albus said dryly, wiggling out from under his brother's arm. "I see you're having a good night."

"The secret to every good night, little brother," James said, cocking an eyebrow and reaching into his robes, "is an undetectable extension charm and a flask." He pulled out a small silver flask, shaking it and grinning.

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Psh," James waved a hand and looked over his shoulder before unscrewing the cap. "Laws, my little Rosie Dosie Posie, only apply to those who follow them."

"Er, yeah," Rose rolled her eyes. "That's how they work, but—"

"Here, take a sip," James said, thrusting the flask to her. "You look like you could use some."

"I don't—"

"Take it!" James said, gesturing wildly, "I insist!"

It never did take much to persuade Rose. With a fervent glance across the room to ensure no teachers were nearby, she took the proffered flask and took a gulp. It burned, as always. Rose welcomed the warmth and quickly took a second swig.

"Okay, that's enough," James said, hurriedly taking the flask back. "I don't need you draining my supply."

"Sorry," Rose said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The swipe of pink that came with it reminded her too late that she was wearing lipstick.

"Well," Albus said after he, too, had taken a drink. "Should we stop moping and get out on the dance floor?"

"I wasn't moping," Rose began hotly.

"No, of course not, sorry," Albus said, taking her by the elbow and leading her to a group of fourth year slytherins who were dancing in a circle. "Come on, I know you love this song."

Rose did love the song, so she danced. She and Albus had an unspoken contest to see who could come up with the most atrocious dance moves, stopping intermittently whenever James arrived and offered them another drink of firewhiskey. The three of them did their best to imitate Uncle George's infamous dance moves and then sang all the lyrics to the Celestina Warbeck songs at the top of their lungs until Maren and Zeno joined them laughing so hard they nearly fell over.

"You're all mad," Maren chortled as she stepped to the rhythm of an old Hobgoblins song. "And you're terrible dancers."

"I'm not terrible!" Rose cried, nearly tripping over her skirt as she tried to imitate Maren, sending her friend into renewed laughter.

"Yes you are," Maren choked out. "Honestly, stick to dancing with a partner."

Rose hmphed and continued waving her arms about.

"Where is Herrick anyway?" Maren asked, peering around the group.

"He went to get drinks," Rose said over the music, deciding not to share the fact that that had been well over an hour ago. "He'll be back in a bit." Maren nodded and didn't say anything further but Rose stood on her toes in an attempt to survey the crowd. And locate her date. A part of her began to worry that he had returned to the tables looking for her and hadn't been able to find her. What if he thought she'd ditched him? She didn't want that. Not at all.

"I'm going back to the table," she yelled to Albus, who merely nodded and continued executing a dance move that Rose could only think to describe as a fish flopping about in the air.

She pushed her way through the dancing crowd back to the tables. The one she and Albus had been at was now occupied by a rather rowdy group of seventh year Gryffindors, so she instead went to one closer to the wall. It wasn't until she had rested her forearms on the surface and caught her breath that she noticed Lucy and Nathan hidden in a shadowy corner of the hall, caught in a tight embrace and oblivious to the world.

She had to smile at that. Good for them.

Her smile disappeared when she saw Theo and Helena a few feet away in an equally tight embrace, wandering across the dancefloor. "Brilliant," she muttered to herself as a bitterness filled her mouth.

"You look like you could use another drink."

"Merlin!" Rose jumped, a hand coming up to her chest. "You scared me, James!"

"Sorry." Her cousin didn't look terribly sorry as he grinned and held the flask out to her, swaying slightly on the spot. Rose took it without a thought and took several long swallows before handing it back.

"Rough night?" James asked, stuffing the flask back in his robes and leaning an elbow on the table.

Rose shrugged, feeling slightly dizzy as the whiskey traveled through her chest. "Not quite what I was hoping for," she murmured.

"The first ball's odd," James nodded, his gaze traveling across the room. "It's not what you think't'll be."

"Nope," Rose said, popping the 'p.' "Not at all."

"Has Fred talked to you?" James said, his voice a bit more focused. Rose turned to find him looking at her more seriously than before.

"No." she brushed back a strand of hair that had come loose. "He's not talked to me all night."

"Oh." James tapped his index finger on the table. "'M sorry."

Rose shrugged and chewed her lip as she turned back to watch the dancers. "S'not your fault."

"He just loves you-"

"He was still a prat."

"You're like his little sister."

"Well he's not my big brother!" Rose said, jerking around to face James, her face heating up quickly. "And even if he was he doesn't get to decide who I go to the ball with!"

"No," James murmured. "I s'pose not."

"I'm going to dance more," Rose said, pushing herself away from the table and trying to hide the subsequent stumble. James didn't answer as she left, and Rose pushed through the crowd without caring whose toes she stepped on or whose ribcage her elbows caught.

The dance floor was packed, with nearly every student bouncing to the tune of The Stupefied's last record. Rose caught sight of Albus, Allie and Maren near the center and began making her way toward them. People jostled and moved around her but she didn't notice. Until she saw one couple walking away from her, off the dance floor and toward the exit. The girl was a fifth year Hufflepuff whose name Rose didn't know, but the boy wore loose-fitting dress robes and had golden hair whose waves had not quite reformed to hide the unmistakable finger-tracks running through them. Rose came to a halt as she watched Herrick put a hand on the Hufflepuff's back and lead her through the doors, not even bothering to look around to check that no teachers were watching.

Rose stood still, ignoring the people bumping into her on all sides. She chewed her lip until she tasted the faintly metallic blood on her tongue and then clenched her teeth in an effort to shove down the growing lump in her throat. The disobedient piece of hair fell out from behind her ear and into her eyes and she pushed it away, feeling her face and neck flame up.

Suddenly, she became all-too aware of the hordes of people surrounding her, pressing against her, dancing to music and taking no time to notice her scarlet face, bleeding lip, the tears spilling over her perfectly made-up eyes. Putting a hand over her mouth to stifle any sound, Rose put her head down and ran off the dance floor toward the exit.

As she neared the door she vaguely noticed a figure standing against the wall nearby moving toward her. But it didn't make her any less surprised or angry when a hand caught her by the shoulder and Scorpius Malfoy's voice rang out, "Weasley? Where are you going?"

"What do you want?" Rose spit, wheeling around to face him.

"I just—why are you leaving in such a hurry?" Scorpius asked, his eyebrows knitting together as he surveyed her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, jerking her arm from his grasp and swaying backward. "Just fine."

Scorpius's frown became more pronounced as he looked at her. "Have you been drinking?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Why do you care?" Rose demanded, stamping her foot and ignoring Scorpius's eyebrows shooting up in response. "Why does everybody care so bloody much what I do? You're like everyone else and think I'm stupid and that I make stupid choices, isn't that right? Well go to bloody hell, Scorpius Malfoy!"

Scorpius's eyebrows came crashing back down and he pulled himself up to his full height as he glared at her. "I was just trying to help," he snapped. "And for the record I don't care what you do, Weasley. In fact, you're one of the people I care about least."

"Then why are you always such a foul git to me?" Rose demanded, more pieces of hair coming loose from their knot and falling into her face. She ignored them, her chest heaving and angry tears racing down her face, carving tracks into her makeup as they went. "What is your bloody problem, Malfoy? You're perfectly nice to everybody except _me_!"

"I'm the one who's rude to you?" Scorpius exclaimed, his face reddening.

"Yes!" Rose nearly screamed. "Yes, you are! What is your sodding problem?"

Scorpius's face went from red to white as he took a step closer to her. "My problem," he said quietly, "is that you're stuck up. You think you're so brilliant because you're good at quidditch and don't have to study to get good marks and your parents are war heroes. You think you're so bloody great and you're not! You're rude and a snob and you insulted my family!"

"I did not!" Rose said indignantly, crossing her arms and taking a step back.

"I would lock all the death eaters up in Azkaban until they died," Scorpius said in a high voice, the color returning to his cheeks as he glowered. "That's my family you're talking about!"

"I apologized!" Rose cried, taking a step forward and struggling to steady herself.

"I didn't want an apology," Scorpius said angrily. "I wanted you to stop acting as though you're the bloody pride of Ravenclaw and that your thoughts and ideas are the most important because you're Rose sodding Weasley and you're good at things and come from a family of heroes!"

"I don't-"

"Everyone else may buy into your ego," Scorpius whispered through clenched teeth, "but I don't." He took a deep breath and stepped back, looking more ruffled than Rose had ever seen him. "That's why I don't like you." With that, he turned on his heel and stalked away.

Rose stood alone for a moment, ignoring the blood leaking over her bottom lip and the tears dripping steadily from her chin. Finally, when it became clear nobody else was going to stop her or even notice the state she was in, she gingerly lifted her skirt and ran as fast as she could back to Ravenclaw Tower.

* * *

And with that, fourth year comes to a close. Thank you all for reading and please review. And now I'm going to break my usual rule against enormous author's notes and get a little emotional. When I first started planning this story over a year ago, I made a colossal 10,000 word outline detailing everything that I wanted to have happen from first through fourth year: all the ways I wanted Rose to develop and her relationships to mature and strengthen. With this chapter, I've finally come to the end of that outline.

As this chapter marks the end of the first phase of Rose's journey, I want to take a moment to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have kept up with this story. It's long and sometimes painfully slow-paced, but I love it in a way I rarely love writing projects; I love these characters with everything I have, and I love writing them and watching them grow. So thank you for sticking with Rose & Co., even through the chapters and events that maybe don't deserve to have such loyal readers. Thank you for your feedback and support. Most importantly, thank you for reading, for giving this story an audience. It means more than you'll ever know.

And now onward to fifth year, where the excitement really starts. I've come to the end of my 10,000 word outline, but there is much in store for the next phase of this story. I hope you enjoy it.

Also, if you'd like to contact me outside of FFN, you can find me on tumblr at lilyprongspotter. Feel free to send me any comments/questions/concerns. I would love to hear from you!


	21. Chapter 20

A faint breeze sashayed through the block, breathing life into the dense July air and rustling blades of grass so they tickled Rose's calves. She sighed and turned the page of _Mrs. Dalloway_ , relishing the feel of sun on her shoulders.

The front door slammed open and Rose started, her head whipping toward the house. Hugo's gangly frame stood in the doorway, his thick brown hair pointing every direction. "Rose!" he bellowed.

"Stop shouting." Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm right here."

"I didn't see you," Hugo said. "And Mum said to call for you and tell you it's time for dinner so that's what I did. I _called_."

"You could've been quieter," Rose grumbled, folding down the corner of a page to mark her spot and closing her book as she got to her feet. "Or just not done it at all. I was having a nice time."

"You were being boring and reading," Hugo said as he led the way through the front door. A thick, summery aroma of grilled meat and fresh fruit blanketed the kitchen and both brother and sister inhaled deeply when they walked in.

"I'm not boring," Rose replied, though without much fervor. She took her seat at the table and watched her mother direct a procession of dishes with her wand.

"Yes you are." One of the dishes had barely landed in front of Hugo before he snatched it and began heaping mounds of corn onto his plate. "You al'ays jus' wa'a read."

"Hugo, don't talk with your mouth full," their mother admonished, finally taking her seat. "And hello, Rosie, I've hardly seen you all day. Now, where is your father? I told him ten minutes ago to come downstairs." She frowned and looked around the kitchen before pointing her wand at her throat, muttering "Sonorous," and saying in what Rose and Hugo called her Wizengamot voice, "Ronald Weasley, you are now officially late to dinner and your family is waiting on you!"

Upstairs, there was a muffled snort and muttering. A few seconds later, heavy footfalls sounded on the steps and Ron Weasley walked into the kitchen shaking his head. "Honestly," he said with a grin as he took his seat, "I'm upstairs putting away my shirts, which you _asked_ me to do, and I get yelled at for being late for dinner!"

"Oh," Hermione said. "I forgot I'd asked you to do that."

Ron shook his head and gave his wife a swift kiss on the cheek before turning to the food in front of him. "Thi' i' grea'," he said thickly after taking a large bite.

Hermione merely rolled her eyes and turned to Rose. "What were you reading today, sweetheart?"

Rose hastily swallowed and pulled out her book. " _Mrs. Dalloway_ ," she said to her mother. "Aunt Audrey told me Virginia Woolf is her favorite muggle author."

"How lovely," Hermione replied. "Have you read _Orlando_ yet?"

Rose shook her head.

"Mm, you should read that next. I'll get a copy for you next time I'm in London. Maybe you can give it to Lucy when you're done; I think she'd like it as well."

"Er," Rose paused and bit her lip, wondering whether or not to tell her parents that Lucy hadn't written in the month since school had ended. Finally she simply shrugged and muttered, "Yeah."

Rose's mother furrowed her eyebrows and looked as though she were about to say something more when Hugo snorted and said, "Nobody else will want to read it because nobody else thinks reading is fun."

Rose's shoulders sagged and a wave of affection for her brother washed over her. Quickly, before her mother could say anything else, Rose cried with forced vehemence, "Other people think reading is fun!"

"You're right," he smirked. "Mum thinks it's fun too."

"And a good thing they think it's fun," Ron said, raising an eyebrow at his son. "If your mother didn't think reading was fun, your Uncle Harry and I probably wouldn't be here. And if Rosie didn't think reading was fun she wouldn't be top of her year in every subject."

"Dad," Rose groaned, "don't-"

"Every subject!" Ron repeated, as though afraid she hadn't heard him. "Even potions! How brilliant!"

"It's been a month," Rose sighed. "Please stop talking about it."

"Stop talking about what?" Ron demanded. "The fact that my daughter is the smartest one in her year in every bloody subject?"

"Ron, language," Hermione said in a warning tone.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "But, Rosie, every b-er-bubbling subject! It's amazing! The only thing that could possibly've made it better would've been if Ravenclaw had won the quidditch cup."

Rose groaned again at that. "Don't remind me," she said. "James was unbearable for the last month of school."

"Well, I'm sure he was excited," Ron said. "And you really couldn't have done any more to hold them off in the final. They were an extraordinary team this year."

"I know," Rose replied. "We really didn't have very high hopes of winning. And, anyways, I really just wanted to win my bet with Nathan and I did."

There was a pause and Rose frowned as her parents exchanged a look.

"We've, er, been meaning to talk to you about that," Hermione said slowly. "About your friendship with Nathan Nott."

"What about it?" Rose asked, catching her lower lip between her teeth. She shoveled more food on her plate, watching her parents out of the corner of her eye.

"Well," Hermione tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and glanced at Ron, who gave a small nod. "We know-we know you've been friends with him for quite a while-"

"Sin' fir' year," Rose said through a mouthful of potatoes, ignoring her mother's sigh. She hastily swallowed, eyes watering as the half-chewed food scraped its way down her esophagus. "And he's one of Al's best friends. And Lucy's boyfriend."

"Yes, we know," Hermione nodded, straightening in her seat. "And I just want to say that this is in no way your father and I trying to persuade you not to be friends with him or not to see him. Audrey says he's a lovely boy and I know that Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny agree. Even Uncle Percy thinks he's alright."

"Then what's the problem?" Rose narrowed her eyes and tapped her fork absently against her plate.

"There's no problem, darling, we just-oh, Rose, stop that, will you?" Hermione reached forward and wrapped her hand around Rose's wrist, silencing the soft clang of cutlery on ceramic.

"Sorry," Rose mumbled, setting the fork down and looking up at her mother. "What were you saying?"

Hermione released her daughter's wrist and sat back, smoothing her hair in vain and taking a deep breath. "We just-we want to be sure-er-"

"We just want to make sure you know Nathan's family were Voldemort supporters," Ron broke in. "His grandfather was right up there in the inner circle."

"I know that," Rose said slowly. "I mean, nobody ever told us but I figured-he said he and Scorpius are good family friends and everybody knows now about Scorpius's family-"

"Didn't you say earlier Mr. Nott went to Azkaban?" Hugo broke in, turning toward Ron with wide eyes. "You said he was one of the death eaters you fought at Hogwarts."

"Er," Ron stammered, turning quickly toward his wife. "Well, yes, Hugh, he did go to Azkaban, but I thought I told you not to repeat that-"

"That was Nathan's grandfather, not his father," Hermione said. She sent a glare at her husband. "And your father shouldn't have told you that. The Notts for the most part turned themselves around. The grandparents, the ones who were in Azkaban for a spell, part of their release deal was that they move to Uruguay; they can't return to Britain unless it's approved by the Wizengamot. And Theodore, Nathan's father, didn't do enough during the war to warrant imprisonment but was watched closely by the ministry for a few years after Voldemort was killed."

"Why?" Hugo breathed, staring at Hermione with unabashed awe. "Did they think he was going to try and attack someone? Did he kill somebody during the war?"

"No," Hermione said quickly. "No, plenty of people were kept under surveillance immediately after the war. The ministry wanted to be sure any "high-alert" persons, ex-death eaters or relatives of ex-death eaters, weren't trying to reorganize."

"And they weren't," Rose broke in, frowning at her mother and Hugo. "If Nathan's dad had done anything we would know about it."

"Theodore Nott was cleared completely almost sixteen years ago," Hermione nodded. "And shortly after, he married a half-blood."

"So he's not as dangerous as you were trying to make it seem." Rose flicked a piece of hair over her shoulder.

"I wasn't trying to make it seem like anything, Rose," Hermione snapped. "I'm not saying Nathan's parents are dangerous. It sounds like they've been perfectly civil to Lucy-"

"Lucy says they've been lovely."

"Yes." Hermione faltered slightly. "Well, we-we just-we thought you were old enough to know about his family's history."

"Okay," Rose said with a stiff nod, chewing on her lip. "Well, I know."

"We're delighted you're making friends with people from other houses and other families," Hermione continued. "Just-it's always good to be aware of their backgrounds. You don't want to be surprised with something like that."

"No, I suppose not."

"And," Hermione's eyes came to rest on Rose's, "you mentioned Scorpius. I know he's good friends with Albus and Lucy-"

"We're not friends," Rose interjected. She fought the urge to pick her fork up and begin tapping the plate again and instead took a small sip of water. The glass hit the corner of her plate as she set it down, the noise echoing through the kitchen. She looked up and found both her parents looking at her expectantly, evidently searching for more explanation. Rose bit down hard on her lower lip and moved her eyes down to the table. "We-er-we don't really talk."

"Right," Hermione nodded slowly, spearing a piece of chicken. "I guessed that much."

There was another pause. Rose ran her tongue over her lower lip, feeling the indents left from her teeth.

"So," Ron broke in, standing from the table, "now that we've established that Nathan Nott seems to be an alright bloke and Rosie isn't friends with miniature Malfoy, who wants trifle?"

Rose breathed in relief as the trifle dish floated into the kitchen and conversation turned toward Grandma Molly's recipe and its use of dragon's milk. She thought she had hated the pointed questions regarding her own love life, her mother's raised eyebrows and her father's suspicious glances whenever they asked about "that Vance boy," yet somehow the discussion on Lucy's boyfriend was even worse. Rose thought privately that she would rather sit down and give her parents a detailed description of every broom cupboard tryst she'd had with Theo than discuss Nathan's family history. She didn't know much about the Notts, other than that they had been involved with Voldemort and supported his fanatical regime, but the bits Nathan had shared with Lucy and which Lucy had in turn shared with Rose had been sordid, nauseating, horrifying. Worse still had been Lucy's description of Nathan as he talked about his family; he hadn't wanted to tell any of them, she said, for fear that they would no longer be friends. Rose hated death eaters with every particle in her body, but the very idea of Nathan Nott, who had never been anything but kind to her, being afraid that she wouldn't be his friend because of his family, made her feel as though she had swallowed a barrel full of slugs.

Rose chewed her trifle without tasting it and twirled her fork on her plate, careful not to look up in case she made eye contact with one of her parents and unwittingly reopened the interrogation. The last thing she wanted was to answer more questions about her friendship with Nathan. Or her non-friendship with Scorpius.

"So, dear, are you excited for Maren to come visit?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence that had descended on the family.

"Mhm," Rose murmured as she swallowed, looking up and forcing a smile on her face. "I think it'll be fun."

"Yes," Hermione nodded, taking a prim bite of trifle and laying her fork on her plate. "I think you two girls will have a grand time."

* * *

Maren arrived the next week with a large bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and a stack of the summer's _Witch Weekly_ issues. "I figured you hadn't seen these," she said to Rose as she marched up the stairs. "You have to read the articles about Dom, they're fantastic. And there's even one about Molly. It's hysterical."

"Someone wrote an article about Molly in there?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrows and letting out a giggle. "What did it say?"

"Oh, the usual rubbish," Maren shrugged as they walked into Rose's bedroom. Maren flopped on the bed and started rifling through the pile of tabloids. "She's engaged to one of the top healers at St. Mungo's."

"What?" Rose's eyes went wide and she put a hand over her mouth. "But aren't they all at least forty?"

"Oh, yes," Maren said gravely. "It's quite the scandal. According to the article, they're going to announce Molly as one of the new junior healers in a couple of days."

"But that's mad." Rose shook her head. "She only just became a healer in training."

"I'm not the one who made it up," Maren replied, opening the bag of every flavor beans and taking a handful. "I'm just telling you what it says. D'you reckon Lucy saw it? I sent her an owl but she never responded."

"I dunno," Rose said dully, flipping a page and shoving a handful of beans in her mouth.

Maren waited a moment as though expecting Rose to say more. When Rose simply kept reading she shifted and said, "Well, have you heard from her?"

Rose bit the inside of her lip. "Not lately," she said, popping another piece of candy in her mouth. She grimaced. "Eurgh. I got a toenail flavored one."

"How the bloody hell do you know what toenail flavor tastes like?" Maren demanded, throwing the bag aside and staring at Rose. "Don't lie to me, Weasley, have you eaten toenails before?"

"No!" Rose cried, shaking her head vehemently. "It just tasted-I dunno-like what I imagine a toenail would taste like."

"D'you imagine eating toenails often?"

"Oh, shut it." Rose rolled her eyes and turned back to the magazine in front of her. "Last year you ate a real doxy egg for a galleon."

"It was still worth it."

They sat quietly for a few minutes, the fluttering magazines and chewy candy masking their silence. Rose swallowed and turned slowly to Maren. "So you-you haven't heard from Lucy either?"

Maren looked up, her dark eyes crinkling as she gave Rose a small smile. "No, I haven't. And Allie says she hasn't heard much from her either."

"Right." Rose nodded, chewing her lip. "So it's not just me."

"My mum said she thinks Lucy just needed some time to herself." Maren crossed her legs and grabbed the candy bag. "And she'll have to talk eventually because I know that she and Nathan have been writing. She'll have to tell us everything that happens."

A small smile escaped Rose's lips and she laid back, examining the article in front of her that was accompanied by a large, unattractive photograph of Dominique shouting at a photographer. "I hope so."

The two girls spent the next several days playing one-on-one quidditch, scouring tabloids for new ridiculous articles about Rose's family members, and discussing the year to come. Both agreed that fourth year had been, for the most part, a colossal failure. Neither of them had a boyfriend (though Rose had come close, they decided that since she and Theo had only been snogging in broom cupboards and he had gone with someone else to the Victory Ball, it didn't count), the Ravenclaw quidditch team hadn't won the cup, and neither of them had mastered Dominique's hair curling charm. They made a pact that fifth year was going to be better; they were going to be better.

"I'm going to get up and go flying every morning," Maren said on her last night at Rose's. They were lying in Rose's bed, whispering so as not to wake up the rest of the family. "I'm going to do drills by myself and fly laps so I'll be the best flyer at school."

"I'll go with you," Rose replied. "Between the two of us, Ravenclaw will have to win the cup this year."

"We should get the others in on it as well," Maren murmured. "I know Henry would love it and I'm sure we could get Katrina and Ly in as well. And we can ask Scorpius-"

"Ugh," Rose groaned. "I don't want him there."

"Rose, come on-"

"No!" Rose sat up and brushed her hair away from her face, staring down at Maren. "I told you what happened at the ball. I don't want to see him!"

"You're going to have to see him at practices. Henry said we're all going to have to be ready for long hours this year."

"I don't care." Rose crossed her arms and huffed. "I don't care that I'll see him at practice. I'll just save every single goal he tries to get past me and then maybe he'll get hit by a bludger-"

" _Rose_."

"I'm sorry." Rose lay back down, turning onto her side so she faced Maren, her silhouette barely visible in the darkness. "He drives me mad, though."

"I know he does." Maren shifted closer so their forearms touched. "He can be annoying."

"He just-what business did he have at the ball to say all that to me? To tell me he hates nearly everything about me?" Rose swallowed and bit her lip. "I didn't do anything to him."

"You didn't," Maren said evenly.

"So I don't know why he hates me so much," Rose continued, furrowing her eyebrows and cracking her knuckles. "Nathan and I are friends. You and Allie are friends with me. Lucy and Albus are friends with me, though they might not count because they're my cousins."

"Rose-"

"If all of you are friends with me and don't think I'm awful then why does he think so?" The question came out as little more than a whisper and Rose shrank back into her pillow, wanting to curl up into a ball. A pathetic little ball that cared what somebody like Scorpius Malfoy thought of it.

Maren moved over and Rose could feel her friend's hair tickling her shoulder. "He doesn't know you like the rest of us know you, Rose," Maren said gently, the pillow muffling her voice. "He doesn't know what you're really like."

"I was a git to him at the ball," Rose blurted out, breathing deeply as the confession escaped. "He was just trying to ask if I was okay and I yelled at him."

"We all have days like that," Maren said sleepily. "I doubt he cared that much anyway."

"If he really hates me, though-"

"He doesn't hate you. Or if he does, then it's his loss."

"I don't want anyone to hate me."

"Then make him not hate you. You two could be friends, you know."

Rose sighed and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling sprinkled with pixie dust she'd begged her parents for when she was six. "I don't know, Maren," she said, tugging the blanket up to her armpits. "I think it might be too late for that."

* * *

August arrived in its usual hazy manner and with it came the month-long Weasley summer retreat at the Burrow. The cousins all reunited with many hugs, a few friendly smacks, and one bruised tailbone (James swore he hadn't meant to run into Albus on his way to greet Roxanne). Rose, while she was glad to see her family, couldn't help but notice rather sadly that the crowd of cousins now seemed rather thin. Vic, of course, hadn't been at the Burrow over the summer in several years and neither had Teddy. Dom was still in Egypt breaking both curses and hearts; Lucy, to Rose's disappointment, was staying in Ireland with Aunt Audrey for another two weeks and Molly, who had moved in with Vic and Teddy until she found her own flat, was working nearly every day at St. Mungo's.

Rose glanced around at the Weasleys and Potters gathered in the yard. James and Fred were about to enter their final year at Hogwarts and after that, who knew how much or how little of them she would see. They wouldn't be able to spend an entire month at Grandma Molly's, no matter what. And next year would be Roxanne's last year of school and then she would leave too. And after that Rose herself would be in her final year, as would Albus and Lucy, and then they would all disperse to different corners of the world, perhaps only seeing each other for Christmas.

She shook her head quickly to dispel the thoughts. She was only fifteen, she told herself firmly; there was plenty of time to spend with her family. And anyways, she needn't worry. Nobody was going far. Dom was the only cousin so far who had left England and she would be back soon, Uncle Bill assured them. Everything was going to stay the same. At least for a little while.

Rose's sentimentality was short-lived. In fact, it was shattered as soon as she walked in the door and was immediately thrown to the ground as something large and sticky hit her in the face.

"Oh, sorry, Rosie!" James cried. Rose felt his hand close around her arm as he half-lifted her up, cleaning her face with a swift flick of his wand. "I was trying to get the cake outside and it got a bit away from me."

"You couldn't have just carried it?" Rose asked through gritted teeth, wiping a bit of frosting from her hairline.

"And waste my precious energy? No," James grinned. "Haven't you learned yet about conservation of power? I thought that was part of the O.W.L. curriculum. The less power you put behind earlier spells, the more you can put behind later ones. I'm applying the same principle to my body. By saving my physical power now and levitating the cake instead of carrying it, I'll be much stronger in a few days."

"You're an idiot." Rose rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.

"I'll be able to lift Grandpa Arthur's old car!" James called after her. "I'll be like one of those muggle body bidders!"

"They're called bodybuilders, dunghead!"

The first few days at the Burrow were chaotic, with everybody wanting to hear about everyone else's summers, Grandma Molly insisting on spending time with each grandchild, and Fred and James pulling out their wands for the most primitive tasks. Within a few days, though, the family had settled down to its usual, manageable chaos. The cousins broke off into their own groups, Grandma Molly was content to stop her grandchildren in the yard and give them a kiss, and Uncle Harry had taken Fred and James's wands.

One day, a week after arriving, Rose sat beneath one of the large trees at the outskirts of the orchard, reading _Orlando_. She enjoyed the spot; a gentle breeze kept the summer air from becoming too oppressive and the trees provided ample shade so she wouldn't get burned. Best of all, a buoyant silence enveloped the orchard, making it the perfect reading spot. Rose smiled to herself and flipped the page.

"Rose!" someone hissed nearby. "Rosie!"

Rose frowned and looked up, her head swiveling around the apparently empty orchard as she tried to find the source.

"Rosie! Behind you!"

She turned and let out a small shriek as Fred appeared out of nowhere, stepping out from between two stumps as he shoved his wand in his back pocket.

Fred put a finger to his lips and shushed her, moving forward with carefully measured steps. "Sorry to scare you," he said. "I just saw you reading and thought you'd like to see something."

"What is it?" Rose asked, closing her book and staring at him. "And where did you come from?"

"I nicked my wand from Uncle Harry's desk so I could disillusion myself," Fred said, taking Rose by the elbow and leading her through the trees. "I couldn't let it see me or else it might've spooked and run away."

"What would've-?"

"I'm about to show you, but keep your voice down. They're easily frightened. Mind your footsteps, also. They have sensitive hearing."

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it, shaking her head as Fred led her further into the orchard. They followed one of the overgrown man-made paths, passing familiar childhood haunts: the circle of stumps that Uncle George had fashioned into high-backed chairs so they could pretend to be King Arthur's knights, the copse of trees that yielded unusually sweet apples, the pile of misshapen branches that marked Fred and James's old fort. They came to a clearing and Fred stopped abruptly, dragging Rose to the side.

"You have to be quiet while we're here or else you'll scare it," he whispered. "No squealing, no screaming, no loud talking. Only whisper, and even that should just be when necessary."

Rose nodded and mimed spell-o-taping her mouth closed.

"Also," Fred continued, "and this is crucial, no touching."

"Okay," Rose whispered, trying to hide her confusion as she peered around the clearing. "What exactly am I not touching?"

Fred didn't answer, only walked toward one of the large, knotted trees and gestured for her to follow. Rose did so, watching as Fred took out his wand and tapped the tree in a short, staccato rhythm. The base of the trunk opened up to reveal a small hollow, inside of which lay what looked like a prickly brown pillow.

"I found him over by the garden surrounded by gnomes," Fred said as he knelt down. He picked a leaf off the ground and tapped it with his wand, transfiguring it into a towel. "Something bit him on the leg and he can't walk well and I didn't want anything to happen to him." Wrapping his hands carefully in the towel, he gently picked up the brown bulge and laid it on the ground.

"Er," Rose faltered as she stepped closer, peering at the curled up animal dozing beneath the tree. "What-what is it?"

"A kneazle," Fred answered, still not looking up as he took a small bottle out of his jeans pocket and squeezed a drop of the clear solution onto one of the matted brown legs. "A baby, by the looks of it. Usually if one is injured the mother will just leave it. This one might've died."

"So you took it to the orchard?" Rose cocked her head to the side and watched as Fred waved his wand over the kneazle, muttering an incantation. The animal's back leg smoked slightly and then went stiff.

"I couldn't just leave it there," Fred said, turning to look at Rose with wide eyes. "And something like this is so easy to treat; he should be all better by tomorrow. It would've been cruel not to do anything."

"That's," Rose paused, watching Fred grin at the kneazle and place it back in the hollowed tree. When that was done he unwrapped his hands, transfigured the towel back into a leaf, and pointed his wand at a small container next to the kneazle's snout. Water rose up to the brim. When that was done Fred reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a handful of nuts that Rose recognized as the ones Grandma Molly kept in the kitchen, and set them on the ground near the water. Finally, he tapped the tree with his wand in the same rhythm as before, and watched the hollow seal itself.

"Wow," Rose breathed, staring at the tree trunk concealing the invalid kneazle. "You did all that?"

Fred shrugged. "And I didn't like to see him hurt."

"How did you know to do all that, though?" Rose asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as they walked back toward the path. "How to heal it and what food it would need and everything?"

Fred shrugged again, though a note of pride crept into his voice as he said, "We learned most of it in care of magical creatures, what kneazles eat and where they like to sleep and how often they need water. The healing stuff was just basic. I probably couldn't do anything for a more serious injury but for this one all you really need is Essence of Dittany and an antiseptic spell."

"Wow," Rose said again, turning to look at Fred. "You learned all that from care of magical creatures?"

Fred nodded and shrugged, running a hand through his dark thick hair. "There's a lot to learn there if you pay attention."

"So I guess most people just don't pay attention?"

"No." Fred shook his head. "They don't."

They walked quietly along the path, Rose with her head turned toward the trees, imagining that she was a star-crossed lover, like Juliet Capulet or Anne Elliot, meeting her beloved in the thick trees and plotting their escape from oppressive families. She smiled as she imagined herself and a dark handsome stranger stealing through the night, risking their families' anger and abuse, just to see each other's faces. It was terribly romantic.

"I'm sorry about the ball," Fred said suddenly, breaking Rose out of her reverie and bringing her back from the dark woods of her imagination to the small orchard of the Burrow.

"What?" she asked, turning to face him.

Fred rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "The, er, the ball. I'm sorry about that. For being such a git about you going with Herrick."

"Oh." Rose flushed and shrugged in response. "It's alright. I mean, you were a prat, so don't do that again, but-but you were also right."

"Yeah, well," Fred made a face, "he's a load of dung."

"He is," Rose agreed, giggling in spite of herself. "A giant load of dung pretending to be a wizard."

"So now maybe you'll listen to me when I tell you not to go to the ball with someone?" Fred asked.

"No, I'll still go with them." Rose gave him a pointed look. "You can't control me, Fred."

He frowned and opened his mouth.

"But I'll be more careful," Rose added quickly. "I won't go with blokes I barely know who ask me last minute and use more potions in their hair than I do."

"Good," Fred nodded. "That's all I ask."

The path opened up as they approached the edge of the orchard. Rose ran forward to her vacant tree, under which _Orlando_ waited patiently with its rustling pages. She sat down in front of the book, reveling in the late afternoon sunshine, open air, and the knowledge that she and Fred were friends once again.

"You want to know a secret?" Fred asked as he sat down beside her.

"Sure." Rose sat up and raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What?" Fred shook his head and laughed. "No, but good try."

"Are you running away to join Aunt Luna on her hunt for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

"Close." Fred snorted. "Quite close, Rosie. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised seeing as you're one of the smartest cousins."

"Wait," Rose frowned and whipped her head around, "what?"

"I'm not hunting Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," Fred said quickly. "But I am, well, I'd like to work with Uncle Rolf. As a magizoologist. I've been owling him this summer and he's been telling me about his work in Stockholm and it's-it's interesting. And I think I'd be good at it."

"You want to work with Uncle Rolf?" Rose asked, cocking her head to the side. "That's the secret?"

"Er, yeah," Fred muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and giving her a sheepish grin. "It really is a secret and you can't tell anyone. James is the only other person who knows."

"But why-"

"I haven't told my dad yet that I don't want to work with him at the store."

"Oh." Rose paused. "I didn't think about that."

"Yeah, well." Fred shrugged and reached out to pick up Rose's book, absently flicking through the pages.

"You should tell him," Rose said, sitting straighter and tugging at a loose piece of hair. "He'd be really proud of you, Fred."

"I know that." Fred breathed in deeply, folding and unfolding the corner of a page. Rose resisted the urge to tell him to stop because he was going to crease it. The page didn't matter, she reminded herself; she could magically smooth the paper later.

"I know he'll be proud of me," Fred continued. "It's just, I dunno, what if he's disappointed?" He looked up at Rose, his dark brown eyes crinkling at the corners and his mouth twisted into an expression so perturbed it looked almost comical on Fred's open, easy features.

Rose sat back, twisting a piece of hair tightly around her index finger. "He won't-" She stopped herself. The comforting sentence she wished to deliver stuck to the roof of her mouth, unwilling to come out because even she knew it was a lie. Uncle George would be disappointed. Maybe even crushed. Ever since Rose could remember he had talked endlessly about the day his children joined him full-time at the joke shop, when he could finally say again that the store was his and Fred's.

"You can't work there just to make him happy," she said finally, looking up to find Fred staring at his hands.

"I know," he answered sullenly. "I just don't want to upset him. The store's so important to him, you know? And so was his brother."

"But so are you. And," Rose nudged him in the shoulder, "I think you'd make a bloody brilliant magizoologist."

Fred laughed softly, laying the book on the ground beside him and wrapping Rose in a hug. "Thanks, Rosie. Not to be a stuck up prat, but I think so too."

* * *

August days slipped past like gilded beads on a bracelet. Rose finished _Orlando_ and began reading _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ and helped Fred care for the injured kneazle until it was well enough to be released. Two weeks into Rose's stay Friday morning dawned, the horizon dewy and whispering of impending autumn. Rose awoke early and rolled over in bed, peering out the window. She frowned and let out a grumble, cursing her east-facing window and the bloody sunrise for waking her up at such an unreasonable hour. She had just closed her eyes and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders when her bedroom door creaked open.

"Ugh, Mum," Rose groaned into her pillow. "What do you want? It's too bloody early."

"Sorry," Lucy said. "I forgot how loud the door is."

Rose cracked one eye open and then sprang up, staring at her cousin who was walking through the doorway as though it were the most natural thing in the world, dragging her school trunk behind her.

"When did you get here?" Rose asked dumbly, brushing hair from her face as she gawked. She swung her legs over the side of her bed, foregoing all attempts at elegance in an effort to greet her cousin as quickly as possible. She got to her feet and moved forward to give Lucy a hug, but Lucy had taken a sudden interest in the clasp of her trunk.

"Er," Lucy stammered to the heavy silver lock, "I've just arrived."

"Right." Rose wrapped her arms around her torso and gazed down at the tiny dinosaurs roaming across her pajamas. "So now you're here."

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "Now I'm here."

"You should've told me you were coming," Rose blurted out, biting her lip when she saw Lucy stiffen. "I just-I would've gotten up and come downstairs to greet you."

"I didn't want to bother anyone," Lucy said evenly, finally unlocking her trunk and rummaging through its contents.

"Well, I didn't want to bother you with a letter just to say that I would be coming early in the morning."

"You didn't bother me with any letters at all this summer," Rose said with attempted nonchalance. Her voice merely came out sounding stifled, as though she were holding her breath as she spoke. "I don't think I would have minded one."

Lucy didn't answer. She ducked her head into her trunk, loudly pushing contents around.

A sour taste erupted in Rose's mouth as she watched Lucy. She chewed furiously on her bottom lip and wound a strand of hair around her index finger.

"I didn't mean to leave you in the dark," Lucy whispered finally, still half-buried in her trunk. "I just didn't have much to say to anyone this summer."

"Right." Rose nodded, forcing the bile back in her throat. The tip of her index finger grew numb and she turned to see it had turned a grotesque shade of purple. She hastily unwound the hair, massaging the skin until it regained feeling.

"I didn't think you'd care when I arrived." Lucy reemerged from the trunk and sat back on the floor, picking at her thumb nail.

"Of course I care," Rose breathed. She shuffled from her perch, wondering if it would be a terrible idea to get up and engulf her cousin in a hug and refuse to ever let go.

Lucy finally turned to look at her, brown eyes settling on blue. She nodded.

"And, er," Rose crossed and uncrossed her legs, trying to will Lucy to stand up and come sit next to her.

"Hm?" murmured, still sitting rigidly on the floor.

Rose exhaled and gave a small smile. "I'm glad you're back."

The corners of Lucy's eyes crinkled slightly and the corner of her mouth moved infinitesimally upward as her lower lip quirked. "Me too."

The day passed slowly but pleasantly. Rose, to her disappointment, did not see much of Lucy, who was busy unpacking and writing letters to her mother and Nathan. But at lunch Lucy sat beside her and asked what she was reading and after a dinner of Grandma Molly's excellent shepherd's pie, they walked together upstairs to their room.

"Is Lily not sleeping in here anymore?" Lucy asked as she put on her pajamas, swivelling her head around.

"No," Rose shook her head. "Since Dom and Vic aren't really here anymore she moved into the third floor room with Roxy."

"So you've had the room to yourself for a month?" Lucy raised her eyebrows. "That sounds nice."

"It was two weeks." Rose shrugged and bit the inside of her cheek. "And I didn't really like it."

"Really?" Lucy asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail. "It sounds lovely."

"It was strange." Rose pulled back her blankets and climbed into bed. "It's weird not having anyone nearby when I go to bed. I had nobody to talk to. It was awfully lonely."

"Hm," Lucy murmured. "And you're not often lonely, are you?"

Rose didn't know what to say to that so she simply grunted and didn't answer, letting the rustling of the sheets fill the silence.

Lucy sighed and turned out the light before laying down on her cot and pulling a blanket around her shoulders.

Rose stretched out her legs in the dark, pointing her toes toward the opposite side of the bed and rolling her head on the pillow. The sheets beside her were cold; her toes grazed across the icy crispness and she shivered. "Lucy?" she asked softly, turning to peer at her cousin's dark form.

"Mm?" Lucy mumbled.

"D'you want to share the bed?" Rose hesitated. "I'm used to sharing it with Lily and there's no reason for you to sleep on the cot if it's just the two of us."

A beat of silence dropped between them. Then Lucy, through the swish of crumpling sheets, said softly, "Okay."

Rose heard the blankets being pushed to the side, heard the soft patter of Lucy's feet across the floor, felt the mattress dip as Lucy climbed up and settled beside her.

"Mm, this is much more comfortable," Lucy sighed, tugging her pillow to the side and closing her eyes. "I had to sleep on the sofa at Nana and Granddad's and it was awful."

"Do they not have bedrooms for all their grandkids?" Rose asked, rolling to her side so she could see her cousin.

"No," Lucy shook her head.

"Why not?" Rose furrowed her brow. "What about when you lot visit?"

"We never really visited them until now," Lucy said. "They always came to visit us because it was easier and we always spent holidays over here with Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur. And Molly and I are the only grandchildren that Nana and Granddad have so I suppose there was just never much of a reason for them to expand their house."

"Oh." Rose furrowed her brow, thinking of her own beloved Grandma and Granddad Granger. "That's sad."

Lucy made a noncommittal sound and shrugged. "It was okay. I don't think they minded visiting us here."

"But still-"

"And anyways," Lucy continued, "I was just happy I got to spend part of the summer with Mum."

Rose swallowed, making a show of turning onto her back. She chewed her lip and weighed her words, trying to think of what her mother would say in this moment. It would probably be something conciliatory and encouraging, but not pitiful. Just sympathetic enough that Lucy would know Rose was genuinely sorry but not so much that Lucy would think Rose was belittling her. She hesitated, then said carefully, "How-how is that now? Your parents, I mean? Is it better?"

"No." Lucy's voice hardened. "It's awful."

"Oh." Rose stopped, waiting for Lucy to continue. When she didn't, Rose moved closer and murmured, "I'm sorry, Luce."

"It's fine," Lucy said. She moved her pillow away from Rose's and turned onto her side, facing the wall. "I'm going to go to sleep now, though, if you don't mind. I'm rather tired."

"Okay," Rose whispered feebly to her cousin's shoulders. "Goodnight."

Lucy remained aloof for the next few days, spending long hours composing novel-length letters to Nathan and listening to truly terrible Celestina Warbeck covers on the Wizarding Wireless Network. Rose tried not to notice, filling her days with two-a-side quidditch and Oscar Wilde. To her delight, though, one rainy morning three days after her arrival, Lucy agreed to

"Why did you two want to come out here again?" Lucy asked when they were deep into the orchard, tightening her ponytail and wincing as her wellington boots sank into yet another puddle.

"It's fun," Rose shrugged, skipping down the trail and taking great care to splash directly in the middle of the largest puddle. Water sprayed all around her and she withheld a squeal, grinning as shiny droplets appeared halfway up her shins.

"Rose, you're getting me all wet," Lucy muttered, stepping gingerly to the side and safely out of the splash zone.

"Lucy, you have to appreciate puddle jumping," Albus said. "Come on, see how big of a splash you can get!" He leaped forward and propelled both feet toward a puddle. His right foot landed but his left skidded across the soft ground, so that Albus came crashing down with a shout and splattering of mud.

Both girls dissolved into giggles as they watched Albus's green eyes widen to the size of quaffles. His jacket, already an atrocious mustard color, was now coated in mud and wet grass, so it took on a rather impressive camouflage pattern. He got unsteadily to his feet, swaying slightly and running a hand across his face to wipe off the dirt.

"Blimey, Al," Rose gasped through fits of giggles. "That was-oh Merlin-"

"That was amazing," Lucy chortled, brushing tears from her cheeks. "Oh, yes, I do see how this is fun."

"Shut it," Albus groaned, shaking his head and laughing as both girls squealed and jumped away.

They wound their way down the path, Rose jumping in every puddle she passed and Lucy eventually stepping carefully in one or two; Albus declared he had jumped in enough puddles for the day.

When they passed the copse of trees where Fred had hidden the kneazle a few weeks earlier, Rose stopped and showed them the hollowed out tree, unable to suppress her grin as her cousins watched in amazement.

"He took care of it all by himself?" Albus asked, dropping to sit on a patch of grass, ignoring the ground's squeals.

"Mhm," Rose nodded, grinning as she sat beside him. "He rescued it and fed it and fixed its leg and everything."

"Wow," Lucy said. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"He did brilliantly, too," Rose added, sitting up a bit straighter. "The kneazle was all better after a week and he released it back into the orchard."

"Maybe after school he can work for the Department of Control of Magical Creatures," Albus said. "He'd be good at it."

"Don't be silly," Lucy said, flicking her hair over her shoulder and rolling her eyes. "We all know he's going to work in the store with Uncle George."

"Actually-" Rose quickly closed her mouth and forced herself to simply shrug. "I-er-I dunno. He could do a lot of things."

"He should go to Romania to study dragons with Uncle Charlie," Albus said, a smile blooming on his face. "Then we could all visit him."

Lucy shook her head and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. "Al, really. You know Fred would never do that. Uncle George has talked for ages about Fred working with him."

"He could still do something else, though," Rose said quickly, turning to face Lucy. "What if he doesn't want to work in the store?"

"Of course he wants to," said Lucy, her eyebrows knitting together. "He's said a million times that he's going to work there and he never seems unhappy about it."

"He could always change his mind."

"I don't know why he would," Lucy sighed, laying down on the ground and spreading her arms out. "It's everything Fred likes. Jokes, his family-"

"But what if he likes something else?"

Lucy shrugged. "I suppose he could do that, then. But-I don't know-if I were him I wouldn't even think about it."

"Maybe he doesn't want to work with his dad," Albus said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't want to work with mine."

"I don't want to work with my dad either," Lucy said softly. "But then, I'm not sure my dad would let me work for him. He'd probably say I'm underqualified."

"Lucy," Rose began.

"No, no," Lucy waved a hand airily and tugged on the end of her ponytail. "He would be right. I mean, I've not done anything special enough to go right into working for his department-" she trailed off, biting her lip and fingering the ends of her hair. "But, anyways," she said with a shake of her head, "that's neither here nor there."

"I think it's a little here," Rose murmured, watching Lucy carefully. "Just because Fred can work with his dad doesn't mean he should."

"But it would mean so much to Uncle George," Lucy replied, twirling a piece of hair around her fingers. "And Fred would like working in the shop."

Rose shrugged and opened her mouth, searching for something to say.

"Luce, maybe you should work in the joke shop," Albus broke in, grinning and leaning forward. "It sounds like you'd like it more than Fred."

Lucy gave a small smile but quickly shook her head. "No. Dad wouldn't think that suitable at all."

"So what?" Rose asked, moving closer.

"He'd probably say he has much higher expectations of me than working in the family joke shop," Lucy said, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Luce, you already exceed everyone's expectations," Rose said warmly, catching Lucy's hand and squeezing it. She smiled.

"I don't know about that," Lucy said softly, wriggling her fingers free.

"How can you say that?" Rose cried, sitting up straighter. "You're brilliant and always one of the top students in the class, you're one of the prettiest girls in our year-"

"You're dating Nathan and he's one of the best blokes I know," Albus broke in, nodding.

"And you're probably going to be made prefect this year," Rose added.

"No," Lucy shook her head. "I don't know that I will be."

"Why?" Rose asked, furrowing her brow. "You're the obvious choice."

"I think it might go to Allie," Lucy shrugged. "She'd be a lot better at it than me."

Rose paused. Bugger, she thought, Allie would make a good prefect. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and said loftily, "Well, I think you've got a good shot at it. And even if Allie's prefect, at least you never dated Malfoy."

"Oh, Rose, honestly." Lucy rolled her eyes. "When are you going to let that go?"

"She dated that prat for a year, Lucy!" Rose cried, throwing her hands in the air. "An entire year!"

"I'm leaving," Lucy said, rolling her eyes again as she got to her feet. "I don't want to spend my day listening to you complain about Scorpius."

"I'm not complaining about him, just our friend's terrible lack of judgment-"

"Hey!" Albus cried. "He's my friend, what are you saying about my judgment?"

"Nothing, Al," Rose said with a conciliatory pat on the shoulder. "You're not snogging him so it's not that bad."

"Ugh," Albus groaned, getting to his feet and miming gagging. "I need to starting spending time with Fred and James instead of you two."

"Nah," Rose laughed. "They'd just hex you."

Albus snorted but otherwise didn't respond, which Rose took as his silent agreement.

"Are you two coming?" Lucy called from where she stood twenty meters away, her wellington boots sunk halfway into a puddle. "I want to see if Al falls again on the way back!"

"We're coming!" Rose cried, tightening her jacket around her. Lucy nodded and turned, stepping carefully out of one puddle and into another.

"Say," Albus said beside Rose, watching Lucy splatter water everywhere, "she seems a lot happier now, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Rose said with a smile. "Yeah, I think you're right, Al."

* * *

Rose sat at the kitchen table the next morning with a cup of tea and _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ propped up against a jar of marmalade. Rays of sun fell on the table as The Burrow groggily came to life, blinking awake as Rose read her book.

The peace was shattered a moment later by what sounded like a herd of centaurs running down the stairs.

"They're coming!" Lucy cried, barreling into the kitchen. "I saw them from the window, they're coming!"

"What-" Rose looked up, her head swiveling between her half-deranged cousin and the window at which she was pointing, utterly bewildered. "Who's coming?"

"Not who, Rose," Lucy said over the clatter of footsteps as Lily, Hugo and Louis came running into the kitchen. "It's our school letters!"

"Oh, blimey, I forgot about those," Rose said, closing her book and setting down her tea. "Hugh, Lily, are you excited to see the books you get to use for your new classes?"

"No," Hugo said, wrinkling his nose. "I'm just taking care of magical creatures and muggle studies."

Rose sighed. "I don't know why you didn't take runes."  
"It's supposed to be hard," Lily chirped, raising her eyebrows. "James told me not to take it if I didn't want to work at Gringotts."

"It's useful for so much more than Gringotts," Rose said exasperatedly. "You learn how people _communicate_ -"

"Rose, stop blathering on about runes this early in the morning," Albus said from across the table. "We're not even at school."

"Why's Rose talking about runes?" asked James as he strolled into the room with Fred and Roxanne.

Rose scowled. "Because you told Lily it's only useful for Gringotts-"

"Oy! Everybody, there they are!" cried Louis, pointing out the kitchen window through which Rose could see a legion of owls flying toward them.

Hugo walked forward and opened the window and they all sat back, jostling and pinching each other as all nine of the Hogwarts owls soared through the window and landed on the cramped kitchen table. A few minutes of chaos ensued as everyone tried to locate their letter and untie it without being bitten or elbowed in the face.

Rose didn't bother waiting for her cousins. Once she had freed the heavy parchment envelope from the owl's leg she promptly tore it open, pouring the contents onto the table. The booklist fluttered down, and something else fell onto the surface with a hearty clang.

Everyone's head turned toward Rose as she stared open-mouthed at the badge on the table, emblazoned with the unmistakable word: _Prefect_.

"Bloody hell," Hugo murmured, his eyebrows shooting up. "Rosie, who in their right mind made you a prefect?"

Rose didn't answer. She looked up slowly, eyes jumping over every cousin until they landed on Lucy, standing stiffly across the table with her own booklist and otherwise empty envelope.

There was a sharp crunch of parchment as Lucy's booklist disappeared into her fist. Jaw tense, she turned wordlessly and rushed from the kitchen.

* * *

And fifth year has arrived. Thank you for reading and please review!


	22. Chapter 21

September first dawned as it always did: crisp and golden, with sunshine splashing over the Burrow and shimmering around the orchard. The inhabitants of the Burrow awoke, some yawning lazily, others leaping out of bed, all preparing for the chaos that would shortly reign. As morning trod on and Weasleys began to fly about the house, searching for textbooks and socks and broomstick polish, the sunshine faded and was replaced by sheets of sticky rain.

"Mum!" Rose screeched from the kitchen where she was struggling to keep her heavy trunk upright whilst cramming a piece of toast in her mouth. " _Mum!_ "

"What is it?" Hermione's voice rattled down the stairs, accompanying the plink of raindrops landing on windows. "Are you alright?"

"I need you to put a flattening charm on my hair before we leave!" Rose called, patting her curls, which were already coiling into frizzy wisps. "Oh, bugger," she muttered as her trunk went crashing to the floor.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Rose, stop worrying about your hair." Her mother's magnified voice filled the stairwell and charged into the kitchen. "And what was that noise?"

"Nothing!" Rose shouted, leaning over and attempting to heave the trunk upright again. "Just-"

"Why in the name of Circe is everybody shouting?" Roxanne grumbled, slinking into the kitchen and snatching a piece of toast off the counter.

"I need my mum to charm my hair before we go so it doesn't get all frizzy on the drive," Rose panted, squatting down as she once again tried to lift her trunk. "What with the rain and all-"

"What is it with witches and frizzy hair?" Roxanne rolled her eyes. "You're going to end up being worse than Dom, making everyone late because you had to charm your hair and lengthen your eyelashes."

"You lot weren't that late when she did that," Rose said, her lip quirking up as she thought back to the day in question.

"We nearly missed the train!" Roxanne cried. "And it was my first year, it was terrifying! My mum nearly levitated me through the platform, she was so worried we'd miss it."

"Well you didn't miss it," Rose said loftily, attempting one more time to lift her trunk. It crashed back to the floor and lay there like a wounded animal. She simply glared at it and turned back to Roxanne. "And anyways, Dom said she needed to charm her hair because otherwise she would have to wear it in a ponytail all day and that would give her a headache."

"Right," Roxanne snorted. "So it was a question of health." Shaking her head, she bent over and took hold of Rose's trunk. With one graceful tug, she lifted the unwieldy luggage upright and balanced it gingerly against a chair. "Merlin, Rosie, what'd you pack in here?"

"Books," Rose said sheepishly. "I shrunk them down so they'd fit in there, but I mustn't have done it properly because they all weigh the same as they did full-size."

"Are you trying to recreate the Hogwarts library in your dormitory?" Roxanne asked.

"I just couldn't decide which ones to leave behind," Rose shrugged, tugging at the ends of her hair.

Roxanne's eyes followed Rose's fingers to her hair and then slid to the smudged badge peeking from behind the red curls. "I didn't think you'd be the type to put that on before leaving," she said, nodding towards the prefect badge.

Rose's cheeks grew warm and she quickly moved her hair to the side so it nearly covered the badge. "My mum wanted a photo," she muttered, chewing on her lip. "I want to take it off but I'm afraid I'll lose it."

"Of course," Roxanne nodded gravely, her dark eyes sparkling. "It probably wouldn't look very good if the Ravenclaw prefect lost her badge before getting to the platform."

"No." Rose looked up and tried to crack a smile. "Everyone would take the piss out of me, probably."

"And you'd deserve it," Roxanne said lightly.

"And then they'd know I'm going to be a terrible prefect," Rose murmured.

"Nah," Roxanne shook her head. "I reckon you'll be alright." She shoved the last of the toast in her mouth and swallowed it seemingly without chewing. "A bit of an odd one, but not bad. Though," she gave Rose a pointed look, "you'll still come to the Gryffindor post-match parties, right?"

"Of course," Rose smiled. "Why wouldn't I?"

"There we go," Roxanne cheered, giving Rose a brief side hug. "That's the Weasley way of doing things. James is afraid you'll turn into a swot."

"I would never!" Rose exclaimed indignantly. "He should know that."

Roxanne laughed and shrugged. "You never know. Maybe the badge will change you, Rosie. Maybe you'll start patrolling and realize you quite like telling people off-"

"I shan't tell anyone off for doing something fun," Rose shook her head. "Unless, of course," she amended hastily, "it's-you know-dangerous, or, I dunno, there's a professor nearby."

"That's the spirit," Roxanne grinned.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway and a moment later Louis and Albus traipsed into the kitchen. "My dad said to tell everyone to bring their trunks out so he can put them in the cars," Albus said. "And, Roxy, he said to remind you that those dungbombs he gave you have an expiration date."

"Oh, I nearly forgot about those!" Roxanne cried, moving hurriedly toward the door. "I'd best find James and Fred."

"Don't you put them in my car!" Rose called as Roxanne disappeared from the kitchen. "I'm a prefect now, I can give you detention!"

"You wouldn't dare, Shortstack," Roxanne's voice came from the stairway.

"You actually probably shouldn't," Louis said sagely, giving Rose a rueful smile. "One time Vic told Aunt Angelina that Roxy skived off muggle studies to fly and Roxy replaced all her Christmas sweets with canary creams."

"Ugh," Rose groaned. "I hate this family."

"We hate you too," James's voice rang out as he strode into the kitchen, auburn hair rumpled and the sleeve of his Falmouth Falcons t-shirt smoking slightly.

"Mum said you had to throw that shirt away," Albus said.

James shrugged. "Mum also said you weren't allowed to use my owl this summer without asking."

"It's not your owl, it's all of ours!" Albus cried. "And it was an emergency! Nathan's aunt got him tickets to the Puddlemere match and I had to let him know-"

"You still weren't allowed to use Gwenog without asking," James retorted.

"I still can't believe your mum and dad let you name your owl after Gwenog Jones," Rose snorted.

"I can't believe they let me name a bloody owl when I was eight," James grumbled. "And now I can't even change it because it's all he answers to."

"Which is why we need another owl-"

"I know, Al, but mum said-"

"Rose!" Hermione's voice filled the kitchen. "Rose Minerva, where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen, Mum!"

With a faint _pop_ Hermione appeared in the doorway, red-faced, her bushy brown hair straining against its clip. "Are you all packed?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rose murmured, pointing to the trunk still leaning against the chair. "I just need somebody to take it out to the car for me."

Hermione sighed and took out her wand. With a gentle wave, Rose's trunk rose in the air and floated through the hallway towards the front door. "You're going to have to learn to do things for yourself someday, you know."

"I do plenty of things myself!" Rose cried, glaring at James, Albus and Louis as they snickered. "At school I do everything myself."

"No you don't, you ask Fred or Lucy to help you," Albus said.

"Shut it," Rose scowled. "I can do things. But, Mum?"

"Hm?" Hermione raised her eyebrows and swept her hair from her shoulder.

"Can you charm my hair?"

"Oh, really, Rose, there is no need-"

"Mum, you've seen what my hair looks like in the rain, I can't very well get on the train looking like Nana Granger's dog!"

"You will not look like Nana's dog, you'll look like your beautiful self as always."

"With horribly frizzy hair!"

"Nobody will even notice your hair because they'll be too busy looking at your prefect badge," Hermione said with a broad smile. "Although you can hardly see it now with your hair covering it." She leaned forward and flicked Rose's hair back so the silver badge sat prominently in sight. "There. Now you can see it."

"The point was that I didn't want people seeing it." Rose glared and covered the badge again.

"Rose," Hermione sighed. "When you're patrolling the corridors on the train, you want people to see the badge so they know you have the authority-"

"It won't matter if they see the badge because I'll just be a walking hairball because you won't cast the charm!"

"Aunt Hermione, please cast the charm," Albus broke in. "Otherwise she'll be a nightmare the entire train ride."

"Oh, all right," Hermione sighed, taking her wand out again. "But, really, Rose, this is just ridiculous-"

"It's your fault I have this problem in the first place," Rose murmured, shaking her hair out and leaning toward her mother. "If I'd only gotten hair like Aunt Ginny's we wouldn't have to do this."

Hermione merely rolled her eyes and flicked her wand, sending a chilling sensation over Rose's head, as though someone had coated her hair in a sheet of ice. "There," Hermione said. "All done."

"Thank you, Mum," Rose chirped, giving her mother her biggest smile as she ran a cautious hand through her newly smoothed ringlets.

"I'm not doing it again," Hermione sniffed. "Now, can everybody please start moving towards the cars? We're supposed to be leaving in less than ten minutes and Roxanne's the only one who's ready."

With many groans, they moved from the kitchen and out to the front of the house, where Uncle Harry and Uncle Bill stood between the two family cars. Rose, after seeing Roxanne grinning in the back of one car, hurriedly scrambled into the other. She had no wish to spend her first prefect patrol smelling of dungbombs.

The drive to King's Cross passed quickly, though Rose rather wished it would go on forever. For the first time in five years she dreaded reaching the station and boarding the scarlet steam engine. She peered down at the silver badge mounted on her chest and felt bile rise in her throat as she thought of Lucy's tight grimace, her mother's proud smile. In less than an hour she would be trapped in a compartment with all the other prefects and they would know without a doubt what everybody had been privately thinking since letters came: Rose Weasley was a lousy prefect. Rose sighed and leaned back in her seat, ignoring Al's irritated grunt as her shoulder knocked into his. Despite was Roxanne said, Rose couldn't shake the heaviness from her chest. She was going to be a dreadful prefect and everybody knew it. What had McGonagall been thinking? It was perfectly obvious to everyone else that Lucy ought to have gotten the badge; she wanted it most, she loved rules. If not Lucy, then Allie. Hell, even Maren would make a better prefect than Rose.

Try as she might to keep her thoughts in check, Rose's mind invariably turned toward the prefect partner who would be waiting for her on the train and with whom she would spend the year patrolling. Albus had confirmed the news a week ago but she had guessed as soon as she saw her own badge. There was only one possibility. The thought made her want to vomit. She could already see the crease appear between those white-blond eyebrows, grey eyes narrowing as the pointed face screwed up in a disparaging sneer.

"Here we are," Uncle Harry called, breaking Rose out of her reverie as the car stuttered to a halt in front of the station. "You lot grab your trunks and go ahead, I'll meet you on the platform after I park."

Within minutes the horde of Weasley relatives stood amongst the crowd on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

"You'd best get on the train soon, dear," Hermione said as she put an arm around Rose. "You don't want to be late for your first prefect meeting."

"Mum-"

"Have a good year." Hermione enclosed her daughter in a tight hug. "Study hard. Have fun."

"I will," Rose mumbled into her mother's shoulder.

"We love you."

"I love you too."

"Have a good year, Rosie," Ron said, coming forward as Hermione relinquished her hold. "Try not to be too much of a swot with the badge, yeah?"

"Ron!"

"Sorry," he called over his shoulder. Turning back to Rose he winked and whispered, "Just don't go overboard with docking points. People don't like that."

"I won't," Rose said with a weak chuckle. She wanted to say something then, while her dad was there and nobody else would hear. She wanted to tell him she was scared she would be a terrible prefect, that everybody would see she wasn't fit for that position, that she had only gotten the badge because of her parents. Ron tugged her into a hug, though, and Rose swallowed her worries.

A whistle blew and Rose wriggled away reluctantly, taking hold of her trunk. "I'd best be going," she mumbled with a jerk of her head. "Don't want to be late."

"Of course," Ron nodded, stooping to drop a kiss on her head. "Bye, Rosie."

"Bye, Dad."

Rose took a step toward the train and peered over her shoulder at her family. Albus stood with his parents and Lily, standing stock-still as his mother tried to flatten his hair; Uncle Bill stood with Louis, bending low to whisper what Rose assumed were last minute pieces of advice Aunt Fleur wouldn't approve of; Lucy, Rose noted, had vanished into the throng of people. Rose swept her gaze over the platform one more time and still didn't find her cousin, though she locked eyes with Aunt Ginny who waved and blew her a kiss. Rose giggled, shook her hair back off her face, and turned to board the train.

Rose realized the flaw in her solitary entrance once she attempted to put her trunk away. The lean muscles she had cultivated in her years of playing keeper weren't, it appeared, very useful in lifting a bulky, heavy trunk above her head. She tried once, twice, three times, nearly screaming as the corner of the trunk landed on her foot.

"Rose?" a voice came from behind her. "You need a hand?"

She turned, red-faced and gasping, to find Ly Scamander watching her. "Er, yeah," Rose mumbled sheepishly, pointing to the offending luggage. "I can't seem to get my trunk put away."

"Here." Ly bent down and lifted the trunk, stumbling back a bit from the weight but managing to drop it in place. "Done."

"Thank you," Rose said with relief.

"Any time," Ly nodded. "Though I'm surprised you couldn't do it yourself what with your quidditch training."

"Somehow being able to catch a quaffle doesn't help me lift a school trunk," Rose said with a laugh. "And I have to jump to reach that shelf, in case you didn't notice."

"Oh, I noticed," Ly chuckled. "I think the entire corridor did."

"Bugger," Rose muttered under her breath. "I'm supposed to be making myself seem more serious. Y'know," she gestured vaguely at the badge on her chest, "more prefect-like."

"Rox told me about that. Congratulations." Ly gave her a slight nod and patted her on the shoulder. "You deserve it."

"No I don't," Rose snorted. "But thank you," she added hastily, "I appreciate the thought."

"You're going to have a busy year then, aren't you?" Lysander asked, starting down the corridor, leaving Rose scurrying to follow. "Between O.W.L.s, prefect duties and quidditch, you'll have a full schedule."

"I'll manage." Rose shrugged. "People have done it before. And you'll have a lot, too, with quidditch and now your N.E.W.T. classes."

"Ah," Ly paused, "I-I've actually decided not to play this year."

"What?" Rose's eyebrows shot up and she turned to gape at him. "You're not playing? But-why?"

"I have to focus on school," he sighed. "Especially if I want to go to the states after graduation to work with the international office of non-magical relations. It's so competitive."

"But you could still play quidditch-"

"The team takes up too much time," Ly said with a grimace. "Trust me, I've already tried it."

"Oh," Rose said. "Well alright then."

"Yeah. Well, I'd better go find Rox and Lorcan," Ly said with a glance at his watch. "It was good to talk to you, though, Rose."

"You too," she replied, mustering up a sincere smile which Lysander returned before ambling away.

Now alone, Rose wandered down the corridor, thinking vaguely that she ought to figure out which carriage the prefect meeting was held in so she wouldn't be late. She peered in the various compartments as she passed and stopped when she heard Maren's unmistakable shout.

"Excuse me," Rose said in the loftiest voice she could muster as she opened the compartment door, "but as a prefect I'm afraid it's my duty to tell you to quiet down. You're creating a terrible disturbance."

"There's our prefect!" Maren cried, grinning. She leaned lazily against the window one leg crossed beneath her and dark hair splayed out behind her: the picture of casual grace. Beside her sat Allie with her perpetually smooth blonde ringlets and glossed lips; Albus sat across from them and waved at Rose before returning to his issue of Quidditch Quarterly. Only Lucy, sitting beside Albus with her head against the window, didn't acknowledge Rose's entrance.

"You're here!" Allie chirped as Rose stepped fully into the compartment, leaning over to give her a hug. "Wow," she breathed as she leaned back, "you've got the badge and everything."

"Er, yeah," Rose said, her bravado failing as she watched Lucy turn infinitessimally toward them, lips thin. Rose hastily stepped back from Allie and pushed her hair in front of the badge. "Not quite sure what McGonagall was thinking with this one."

"Well, none of us were expecting it, that's for sure," Maren said, dark hair bobbing as she laughed to herself. "It'll be the talk of the school."

"Yeah," Rose snorted. "Once I've made a royal arse of myself."

"Don't say that," Allie murmured, "I'm sure you'll be just brilliant."

"Thanks, Allie," Rose nodded. She glanced around the compartment and furrowed her brows. "Where's everyone else?"

"Scorpius and Nathan went straight to the meeting," Albus said. "Nathan just asked that we save them some seats."

"Bugger," Rose muttered. "I have to go to that meeting too. Did they say where it was?"

"Do you not know where the prefects' carriage is?" Albus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er-"

"For the love of Circe, Rose-"

"Just tell me where it is!"

"Second carriage," Albus said with a poorly concealed roll of his eyes, "first compartment."

"Thank you," Rose sniffed. "I suppose I'd best be on then if I don't want to be late."

"Probably," Maren chuckled. "And mind you don't sit by Scorpius. I reckon if you hex him before we even get to the castle they might take your badge away."

"Sod off." Rose flicked a piece of hair over her shoulder and turned to leave. "The next time you're an arse I'll dock you points."

"I'm in the same house as you, doxybrain."

"Whatever," Rose called as she closed the compartment door and hurried toward the second carriage.

She found the prefects' compartment easily and slid through the door after a pair of Hufflepuffs. The compartment had been magically expanded and was easily four times the size of a normal one, with chairs lining the perimeter and a large table in the middle. Rose quickly found Nathan and rushed to take the unoccupied chair beside him.

"I was starting to think you'd forgotten," he said quietly as she dropped into the seat.

"Nah," Rose whispered, "just didn't know where the compartment was."

"Ah," Nathan nodded, eyebrows raised. "Glad you found it."

"Mhm," Rose murmured, looking at the surrounding chairs. Scorpius, of course, sat on the other side of Nathan, his eyes roving over the other prefects' faces and fastidiously ignoring Rose. Good, she thought with a tinge of relief; she would much rather he pretend she weren't there than transfix her with one of his judgmental frowns. She decided to follow his example and see who else was in the compartment with them. A little more than half the chairs were occupied; Johanna Amal sat several seats down from Rose next to Quentin Collingwood, a curly-haired Hufflepuff in their year. On the other side of the room a fifth year Slytherin girl Rose recognized as Adele Ahlgren sat with a cluster of housemates. Students trickled in over the next few minutes. Rose made a mental note to tell everyone later that she had managed to get to the meeting before almost anyone else. When most of the chairs were filled, the compartment doors opened and Booker Wechsler and Nadiyah Zhou, the head boy and girl, walked in.

"Hello, everybody," Nadiyah trilled, standing behind the table as she glanced at the prefects. She was a tall girl, with dark hair and skin and topaz colored eyes that seemed like small lanterns blazing from her skull. Rose remembered that Nadiyah had worked for the Wizengamot the year before and supposedly been allowed to help with the questioning of an Azkaban inmate. She sat a bit straighter in her chair, not wishing to get on the head girl's bad side.

"I hope you all had a lovely summer," Nadiyah said, her long fingers flickering through a stack of parchment. "This shouldn't take too long, but Wechsler and I just wanted to say a few words before we begin our patrolling."

"First of all, welcome to all the new prefects," Booker said, adjusting his horn-rimmed glasses and straightening his collar. "I hope you understand the honor that has been bestowed upon you, and that you will conduct yourselves in the coming year so as to live up to that honor. Whether it's your first year as a prefect or you are returning, remember, Hogwarts as an institution is represented by your behavior and embodiment of its codes."

"Yes, yes, follow the rules," Nadiyah broke in, brushing back a piece of hair and raising an eyebrow. "But that goes without saying, yeah? And Professor McGonagall asked me to remind you all that while this position is one of authority and responsibility, it is also a privilege. Anybody who is found to be abusing their power in any way will face consequences and could very well lose their badge. That includes docking points superfluously, not taking points from friends or housemates, using your position to excuse tardies or absences, and giving out the password to the prefects' bathroom."

"We ask that each of you take the time during the first week of term to acquaint yourself with Filch's updated list of banned items, as you will be responsible for confiscating them," Booker added.

"Yes," Nadiyah nodded. "And we ask that you also wear your badges at all hours for the first week of term, not just during patrols, so if younger students need help you are easily identifiable."

A faint murmuring went around the room and Rose groaned internally, glancing down at the damned badge glimmering against her robes.

"Wechsler and I will distribute passwords to Gryffindor and Slytherin prefects before the feast starts," Nadiyah said, evidently choosing to ignore the prefects' reactions. "And now," she held up the stack of papers in her hand, "I have the schedules for corridor patrols. You'll be with your usual partners. If, for some reason, you can't patrol at your allotted time come speak with me or Wechsler and we'll figure something out. Everybody can take a sheet," she took her wand out of her pocket and waved it so the papers dispersed, one flying into the hands of every prefect in the compartment. Rose clutched hers and scanned it. She and Scorpius were on the first patrol shift in the third carriage.

"So," Nadiyah called over the chatter and rustling of parchment, "that's all for now. Those of you on the first patrol have a few minutes to get to your carriages; everyone else make sure you keep an eye on the time so you aren't late. Enjoy the rest of your train ride and remember we'll deliver the term's patrol schedule to each of you the first day of classes."

Rose stood and turned to face Nathan. "When's your patrol?"

"Er," he glanced at his parchment, "second shift, first carriage. You?"

"We have the first shift," Scorpius answered as Rose opened her mouth. She frowned but said nothing.

"You're lucky," Nathan groaned. "You get it over with."

"I suppose." Scorpius shrugged, turning his gaze down to his watch. "Although we'd better get on if we're not to be late. I'll see you later in the compartment." He folded his parchment, pinching the edge to tighten the crease, and put it in his pocket before turning toward the door. Rose turned to Nathan and grimaced, folding her arms across her chest. Nathan merely shrugged. Rose rolled her eyes and made to follow Scorpius.

The door clattered to a close behind her and Rose found Scorpius waiting in the corridor, his lower lip caught between his teeth and his fingers tapping against his thigh.

"Shall we get this over with, then?" she grumbled as she approached. Scorpius nodded and started walking, his fingers still tapping maddeningly against his robes. "Right," Rose huffed, pursing her lips and trotting to catch up to him.

The third carriage was rather quiet; from what Rose could gather through covert glances into the compartments, it was mostly first years and N.E.W.T. students, either too nervous or too bored to cause much trouble. She and Scorpius meandered up and down the corridor, occasionally pausing in front of particularly rowdy compartments.

"Pretty quiet here, hm?" she mused after forty-five minutes of silence.

"Mhm," he mumbled, stooped forward with his hands in his pockets.

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes. Her finger hooked around a piece of hair, twisting it. She counted as she twisted, one revolution around the finger per second. One...two...three…

She did ten revolutions and then counted as she slowly unwound the hair. There, that was twenty seconds. If she did that three times in a row it would be a full minute passed. And if she did that seventy-five times in a row it would be the end of the patrol. She began winding the strand around her finger again. One...two...three…

Scorpius coughed and checked his watch. Rose chewed the inside of her cheek to hold back a slew of comments, some sarcastic and some simply rude. Scorpius scratched the back of his neck and stifled a yawn. Rose sighed again and let the piece of hair fall away from the finger, settling over the silver prefect badge.

The next hour and fifteen minutes passed excruciatingly, with only Scorpius's finger-tapping to serve as background noise and no excitement to speak of other than Rose nearly falling on her bum when the train jolted unexpectedly. With half an hour to go, she began twisting the piece of hair around her finger again and again, counting silently and wondering if she could get out of patrols if her finger fell off. At last, their replacements, the sixth year Hufflepuff prefects, arrived, and they were free to go. Rose heaved out a sigh and unwound the hair from her purple finger. It throbbed as invisible pins pricked the skin, the purple fading to red and then to its natural pale hue.

They walked back to the first carriage, neither speaking. Scorpius had his hands shoved deep his robes pockets and his shoulders hunched, moving quickly through the corridor as though Rose weren't there. She stayed a few steps behind him, trying to conceal her heavy breathing from the half-jog she had been doing since the prefect meeting ended.

Scorpius stopped at the compartment and slid the door open carefully, holding it just long enough for Rose to catch up to him.

"How were patrols?" Albus asked, looking up as Rose and Scorpius silently walked in and took seats, with her next to Allie and him next to Albus.

"Alright," Scorpius shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "The third carriage was fairly quiet."

"You didn't catch anyone snogging?" Maren asked, turning to Rose with an impish grin.

"No," Rose shook her head, leaning back in her seat. "They were a pretty tame lot. Say, has the sweets trolley come through yet?"

"About an hour ago," Maren replied, digging in her robes pocket. "Here, I saved you a chocolate frog." She tossed the sweet over Allie so it landed in Rose's lap. "I took the card, though. It was Abigail Williams and I've not gotten her yet."

"Everybody's collections were ruined once they added the American cards," Albus said with a shake of his head. "I dunno what they were thinking."

"If it means I stop getting my mum and dad they can add as many cards as they like," Rose grumbled as she tore into the package.

"You'll still probably get them," Albus said. "I read somewhere they're the most popular collectible cards."

"Of course they are," Rose snorted, biting off the frog's head. "Bloo'y gol'en trio."

"Rose, don't talk with your mouth full," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

Rose stopped chewing and hurriedly swallowed, her eyes watering as the still solid chocolate scraped down her throat. "Sorry," she murmured.

Lucy didn't answer, just tugged at the end of her ponytail and turned back toward the window.

Rose bit her tongue and began wrapping the piece of hair around her finger again.

"So, er," Albus stammered, looking around the compartment. "How was the meeting? Who all's prefects from our year?"

"It was fine," Rose said at the same time that Scorpius said, "Adele Ahlgren." Both stopped talking and Rose hastily clamped her mouth shut. Scorpius's eyes flickered towards her, his eyebrows knitting together in some unspoken question. On the other side of Albus, Lucy watched them both with her face screwed up in a tight frown. Rose swallowed and turned her gaze to her hands. "You go on," she said.

Scorpius nodded and relayed the various fifth years who had been granted badges, offering a flicker of a smile as he began to repeat Booker and Nadiya's speech.

"So you really have to wear your badge at all times for the first week?" Maren laughed when Scorpius finished.

"Yeah," Rose groaned. "It's bollocks."

"It's so that prefects are identifiable," Scorpius said. "In case any younger students need to find someone in a hurry."

Maren snorted. "Hopefully they find you and not Rose."

"Hey!" Rose frowned, a bit stung. "I can help a first year if they need it."

"I'm not saying you couldn't-"

"They'll most likely need directions if anything," Scorpius said calmly, eyebrows raised and his gaze not moving from Maren. "I'm sure anyone can handle that."

Rose ground her teeth but said nothing as Maren conceded.

"Say, Al," Scorpius said as he shrugged off his robes, "you don't happen to have exploding snap with you, do you?"

"When do I not?" Albus grinned and delved his hand into his bag. "Shall we have a tournament?"

"What are the stakes?" Scorpius asked, taking out his wand and laying it on the table.

"Losing team buys the next round of sweets?"

Scorpius looked around the compartment, eyes flickering from Maren to Lucy to Allie. "Does that sound good to everyone?"

"Sounds brilliant," Rose said loudly, unraveling the lock of hair from her tingling finger as she stared at Scorpius's turned head. "I'll be on Al's team."

The exploding snap tournament lasted for nearly two hours, ending only when Nathan returned from his patrol.

"What's going on?" he asked, the corner of his mouth quivering as he took a seat across from Rose.

"Scorpius is cheating!" Albus cried, his one undamaged eyebrow crashing down in indignation.

"I'm not cheating, I'm just beating you," Scorpius said coolly. He threw down another card, which shook violently. "And it's your play."

"Rose, you go," Albus bit out, hunching over his cards.

Rose tentatively took a card from her hand and set it in the middle of the table, hastily scooting back as far as she could. The card shook and sparked, but then lay still. Allie, sitting next to Scorpius, gingerly dropped her card on top of the stack. The pile quivered and exploded with a horrific _bang!_ Allie leapt back with a shriek, hands flapping as sparks spat over her, Lucy, and Scorpius.

"That seems like a good place to end it," Albus said, raising his good eyebrow as he smirked. "That'll teach you to get cocky, Scorp."

"We were winning all the way up until the end," Scorpius said as he patted the smoking collar of his shirt.

"Sorry," Allie chirped as she tapped her hair with her wand, sending droplets of water spraying.

"Don't worry, Allie," Lucy murmured. "We'll just have to win next time."

"I'd like a cauldron cake when the trolley comes by," Rose said with a grin. "And a box of chocolate frogs."

"Smart to save your money while you can," Nathan said to her, his mouth curving into a smile. "I've been practicing my flying all summer and at the end of the year you're going to owe me ten galleons."

"Pfft." Rose tossed her head. "I think the last time you outdid me was Nearly Headless Nick's deathday."

"Or the Gryffindor match."

"I saved more goals!"

"But I had a better average." Nathan grinned. "And that's what the bet is, right? Who has a better average?"

Rose rolled her eyes but smiled as she said loftily, "I wiped the floor with you last year, Nott."

"Well I've been practicing, Weasley. Isn't that right, Scorp?"

"Hm?" Scorpius looked up from his apparently captivating conversation with Allie. "What was that?"

"Haven't I been practicing all summer so that I can have a better keeping record than Rose?"

"Oh, yeah." Scorpius shrugged and turned back to Allie. "Though Ravenclaw's still going to win."

"Debatable," Nathan murmured. "We've got a good team."

"But Ravenclaw has a better keeper," Rose interjected, "one who you're going to owe ten galleons at the end of the year."

"We'll see," Nathan shook his head. He leaned around Scorpius and Allie and called, "Lucy believes in me, don't you, Luce?"

"Of course," Lucy responded, raising one eyebrow. "You'll be the best keeper in the school without a doubt."

"How sweet," Allie sighed.

"Gross," Maren made a face and mimed vomiting. "If you two are going to act like that you have to find a different compartment."

"Come on, Thomas," Nathan chuckled, "I'm just talking to my girlfriend. Now, if we start snogging I promise we'll leave because I don't fancy having you lot stare at us while-"

"Nathan!" Lucy screeched, her face turning a shade of magenta.

"Sorry, sorry," he said hastily. "When we snog on the train it'll be discreet and somewhere private-"

"Mate, stop," Albus groaned, shoving his hands over his ears. "That's my cousin."

"I'm just letting you know-"

"We get it," Scorpius said, shaking his head and grimacing. "Now please stop talking about it before Al actually vomits."

"And is it a rule that you two have to snog on the train?" Maren asked. "We can't have that long left."

"How long is left?" Rose added, peering out the window at the darkening sky. "It can't be long."

"A bit more than an hour," Albus answered, glancing at his watch.

"That's long enough for a few more rounds of exploding snap," Rose said, a slow smile making its way across her face. "We can put Nathan and Lucy on different teams so it's still fair even if they leave to snog."

"We're not going to leave to snog," Lucy huffed.

"Brill," Maren said, picking up the abandoned cards off the table. "Nathan, come over here, you're on our team. Al, budge over and make room for him."

"What should the stakes be for this game?" Rose asked, waggling her eyebrows.

They considered. After a moment, Allie said slowly, "The losing team has to nick us all butterbeer from the kitchen tonight?"

"Brilliant."

* * *

The stairway to Ravenclaw Tower had never seemed so long or arduous to Rose as it did that night as she and Scorpius led a group of newly sorted first years to the common room. Perhaps it was the third helping of potatoes that seemed to be sitting in her stomach like a bludger, perhaps it was the way the new students were scuttling behind her as though she were their patronus, but Rose felt at any moment the contents of her stomach might find their way to the floor.

"Here we are," Scorpius said when they at last reached the top of the steps. He looked as cool and composed as ever, his chin raised slightly and his blond hair falling neatly along his temple. He stepped forward so he stood next to the eagle knocker, calmly authoritative like a marble bust. The silver badge on his chest gleamed in the night; Rose awkwardly pushed her hair over her shoulder so her badge was more visible.

"Ravenclaw's common room is a bit different than the other houses as we don't have a password," Scorpius said, giving the first years a small smile. "We have a riddle instead."

"So anybody can get in if they answer the riddle?" a petite girl near the front of the pack asked, one thin eyebrow arching upward. "Isn't that unsafe?"

"No," Scorpius shook his head with a small chuckle. "The idea is that we welcome anyone who's willing to take the time to answer the riddle."

"What if we can't answer it, though?" a chubby boy in the middle asked, eyes widening. "Are we locked out?"

"If you can't answer it then you simply have to wait for somebody to come along who can," Scorpius answered. "But don't worry," he said quickly as the boy's mouth flew open, "there will usually be someone who can help you. And anyways, the riddles aren't meant to be terribly difficult. Generally if you can't get it, you just have to think about the question in a different way. Isn't that right?"

It wasn't until several of the first years turned to face Rose that she realized Scorpius had been addressing her. She started, pulling at the ends of her hair and cleared her throat. "Er, right, yeah, what he said. The questions aren't that hard-not like a test or anything. They're more-er-puzzles. They're meant to make you think, so many of them don't have any one right answer."

"So it just wants us to think?" the petite girl said, her face relaxing a bit.

"Exactly," Scorpius said crisply, turning back to the knocker. "So all you do is tap the knocker like this, and-"

"Where do lost memories go?" the eagle knocker warbled.

Scorpius paused, then said, "Into the unconscious, which is to say the essence of our being."

"Well done," the knocker said as the door swung open. Scorpius beckoned the first years inside and Rose brought up the rear, watching the new students' reactions to the airy, ornate room with amusement.

"Boys' dormitories are up that staircase," Scorpius said, pointing towards one of the large staircases. "And girls' are up the other. Boys, if you'll come with me, I'll show you to your room."

"And, er, girls, if you'll follow me-" Rose murmured, pointing to the stairway leading up to their dormitory. "Right this way."

She deposited the first years in their room, answered a few last minute questions, and reminded them to come find a prefect if they had any difficulties during the night. When she had left the first years' room and shut the door safely behind her, Rose heaved out a breath. Her pulse beat erratically and her stomach still felt as though it were lined with lead, ready to drop at any moment. She fidgeted with a strand of hair, her eyes wandering down to her badge, still shiny under a layer of smudges.

"Ugh," Rose groaned, sitting on the floor and leaning her head against the wall. Tears built up behind her eyes and began to spill out the corners. She felt undone, overfilled. Who in their right mind had thought she were capable of being prefect? Who in the world decided to give her the position instead of Lucy or Allie? Who, she wondered, was daft enough to think that she, Rose Weasley, could comfort and corral, direct and discipline? Footsteps sounded on the staircase and Rose scrambled to her feet, pushing hair from her face.

"Oh, hi, Rose," Katrina DeMarco said when she came into view. "Have a nice holiday?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, lovely," Rose replied. "You?"

"It was good," Katrina shrugged. "Didn't do a lot, but that's alright. I reckon this year will be busy enough with N.E.W.T.s and all that."

"Right," Rose gave a weak smile. "You reckon the team'll be alright this year?"

"I think so," Katrina nodded. "If we can get Herrick on his game we should be in good shape. Though I'm sure you can help us with that," she said with a sly smile.

"What? Oh, yeah, the ball," Rose muttered. "I forgot about that."

"Really? I don't know that I would've," Katrina mused. "But, anyways, we'll catch up soon and you can tell me about it, yeah? I'd better go, I told my roommates I'd be up ten minutes ago."

"Oh, sorry for keeping you," Rose said, moving to the side so Katrina could get up the stairs. "I'll see you around, then."

"Have a good night," Katrina waved as she disappeared up the stairway.

Rose stayed outside the first year dorm for a moment, then followed Katrina up the stairway toward her own dormitory. She opened the door and found Maren, Allie, and Lucy sitting on their beds, reading magazines or doing their nails.

"We thought you got lost with the first years," Maren said as she looked up from _Quidditch Quarterly_.

"Nah." Rose sat down on her bed and began unlacing her shoes. "Just had to answer loads of questions. First years are rather daft, have you noticed that? They asked the most ridiculous things."

"Rose, be nice," Lucy said without looking up from her copy of _Witch Weekly_. "We were rather daft on our first night, too, remember. They all must be so nervous."

"I don't think we were that nervous," Rose said. "Half of them wouldn't even speak."

"They're probably scared, the poor dears," Allie said, waving her wand over her newly painted fingernails.

"They're probably terrified." Lucy looked up, her gaze resting on Rose, the crease between her eyebrows softening. "I know I was scared my first night. Weren't you?"

"Well, I dunno, it was so long ago-"

"You were," Lucy sighed, turning back to the magazine, ignoring the lock of hair that fell in her face. "You just don't want to admit it."

Rose chewed her lip. "You're right," she mumbled. Lucy looked up from her magazine, eyebrows raised. She met Rose's eye for a moment before tucking the piece of hair back behind her ear and looking away.

Rose took a breath and leaned down to relace her shoes. "I think I actually forgot something in the common room," she said, getting to her feet. "I'll be back soon."

"Try not to get lost again, okay, firstie?" Maren called as Rose closed the dormitory door behind her.

She made her way quickly down the stairs, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone on her way. The last thing she needed was to be waylaid by a wandering first year. She stalked through the common room and pushed open the heavy entrance door, stumbling into the dimly lit corridor.

The castle seemed deserted, with everyone in their common rooms or dormitories for the night. Hopefully, Rose thought, the headmistress hadn't gone to bed yet. She didn't think she could wait until tomorrow to see her. She let out a relieved sigh when she came approached the door to the headmistress's office and saw the warm light flickering under the door. Steeling herself, Rose knocked sharply three times on the oak door.

"Come in," came the headmistress's tart reply.

"Hi, Aunt-er-Professor McGonagall," Rose said quietly as she tiptoed into the large study. The headmistress sat behind the desk, flanked by scores of portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses. Rose peered at the faces in the frames, her face heating up. "Er, I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"Don't worry, Rose," McGonagall said, "you're not interrupting. Take a seat," she pointed to one of the armchairs on the other side of the desk.

Rose sat, crossing and uncrossing her ankles and twisting the piece of hair round her finger.  
"So," McGonagall said, surveying Rose, her glasses perched precariously on the bridge of her nose. "What's brought you here?"

"Well, er," Rose bit her lip, looking up again at the portraits, most of whom appeared to be sleeping, though some regarded her with interest. The largest portrait, hanging directly behind McGonagall and depicting Albus Dumbledore, winked at her and smiled. "Why did you make me prefect?" Rose blurted out, her face immediately flaming. "I-I mean," she stammered, "I'm not-I'm not the right choice, Aunt Minnie-I'm sorry, Headmistress-but-I'm-I'm not. I'm going to be a lousy prefect." She looked up to find the headmistress regarding her carefully, her hands folded on the desk. One of her eyebrows arched upwards. Rose looked away and plowed on, ignoring the heat radiating from her face and the pain of her numb finger. "I'm not good at giving directions, or helping kids. And-and I don't know all the things Filch has banned and I'm not quiet enough or calm enough to be good at patrolling and I just-I'm not right for it." She took a deep breath and murmured, "You should take my badge and give it to Lucy. She'd be much better at this and she wants it more than I do. I don't want it at all, really! I won't be upset at all, I promise! And neither will my parents. Well, they might, but they'll get over it and it-it would mean so much to Lucy. And Uncle Percy."

Silence hung heavy in the air. McGonagall watched Rose evenly, scanning her face through her square spectacles. Rose squirmed in her seat, wishing she were a legilimens. McGonagall, at last, sighed and removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"You don't think you'll make a good prefect, Rose?" she asked as she replaced her spectacles.

"Er, no, Ma'am," Rose shook her head. "I think I'll be a terrible one."

"You don't have to call me ma'am if it's just the two of us," McGonagall said with a small smile. "And, though I know you just gave me a very long list of reasons, could I ask you to please articulate why you feel you're not right for the position of prefect?"

"Well," Rose paused, "I-Lucy's a lot calmer than I am-"

"Rose," McGonagall interrupted, looking over the top of her spectacles, "I want you to tell me why you think you won't be a good prefect, not why you think the badge should go to Lucy. Just tell me why you believe you yourself are unfit.

"Er, right," Rose said, furrowing her eyebrows. "I-well, I don't always follow the rules. Or," she amended hastily, "I don't break loads of them, but I'm not quite as, er, _fastidious_ as others. I'm not very good at being comforting. I did a horrible job with the first years earlier; they asked all these questions and I tried to answer them and be honest and also encouraging but I don't think I was very good at it. It was nothing like Vic or Molly would've been. The first years all seemed just as nervous when I left as they did in the Great Hall. And I'm too loud; I'm not somebody that anybody's going to listen to. I'm too-I dunno-nobody's going to take me seriously as a prefect, Aunt Minnie. You have to know that." Her voice caught at the end and Rose looked down at the desk, her face feeling as though it had caught fire.

"Now, I disagree, Rose," McGonagall said evenly. "I think people already take you seriously and you're the only one who doesn't do so."

Rose looked up, her eyebrows drawing together so tightly her head hurt. "No they don't. People don't look at me like they did at Vic or Molly, or even Dom-"

"Rose, you saw those girls like that because they were your cousins," McGonagall said, "you looked at them like older sisters, did you not?"

Rose shrugged. "A bit, I suppose."

"Now, I understand your anxieties," the headmistress continued. "And I will grant you that it would be preferable for you to be a bit calmer and steadier. You weren't chosen for your tranquility."

Rose let out a dry laugh. "Isn't that what prefects are supposed to be? Calm and tranquil?"

"Many are," McGonagall answered. "And it's an important trait, but not the only one. What I and the staff look for when choosing prefects is leadership. We ask ourselves how comfortable the student is leading others and how effective they would be in the role. And while we are in agreement that you are not always as composed as we would desire, when it comes to your authority and your abilities as a leader I am afraid there is no room for debate."

"But I'm not-"

"Do you know why you were chosen for this position instead of any of your friends?" McGonagall asked, raising her eyebrows as her eyes bore into Rose's. " It's because I, as well as several members of faculty, believe you are not a follower, but one who takes charge. We would like to see that quality develop."

"But," Rose blinked, a bit taken aback, "Lucy-"

"Lucy is a lovely girl with many fine qualities," McGonagall said. "I know you know that and I am not arguing it. She is organized, calm, and can be counted upon to uphold rules but you, Rose, have a sense of justice and courage that we felt stood out. You have the ability to be both a natural and an effective leader."

Rose stared at her feet, unsure of what to say.

"I felt," McGonagall continued, "as did many of the professors whom I consulted, that I would rather give the badge to somebody who has this ability to lead and help others flourish rather than to a student who perhaps is a more viable candidate on paper but who I suspect only wants the title to appease her parents."

"Oh." Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and looked up through her eyelashes to find McGonagall's gaze fixed on her.

"Has Lucy taken it especially hard?"

"Er," Rose paused, "she-she's been a bit-well, yes. She's upset. I think we were all expecting her to get it."

"Yes, I was afraid of that," McGonagall sighed. "I hope she hasn't taken it too personally."

"Part of it was my fault," Rose said quickly. "I've been telling her for the past year that she was going to get the badge. And you know her dad-"

"Yes, I'm sure he talked about it often. Especially because of Molly."

"Lucy really wants to live up to her sister," Rose said softly. "She doesn't say it, but-"

"It's very apparent." McGonagall nodded. "Yes, I've noticed that too. As have others. It's not a bad thing, but I do hope she is able to break out of that. It would be a pity to see her waste her youth slaving away to reach a goal that isn't her own. She already has so much on her mind."

Rose nodded. "And now this is just one more thing."

"It's not your fault how she's feeling, Rose." The headmistress smiled gently and reached forward to take one of Rose's hands in her own. "And you oughtn't feel guilty over it. I know you weren't expecting to get this , I hadn't been intending to give it to you. But after thinking about it for quite some time last year and speaking with the staff, you really did seem like the right choice."

"And it's not just because of my mum and dad?" The question came out as barely more than a whisper.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Rose Minerva, do you truly believe that I, or any teacher here for that matter, would make you a prefect solely because of your parents?"

"No," Rose whispered, shaking her head. "But it's what other people will think."

"Well, in that case, you can tell them that you were given that badge because you earned it through your unparalleled academic success, leadership in the classroom and on the quidditch pitch, and integrity. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Rose said slowly, the corner of her mouth quirking upwards. "Thank you."

"Of course, dear," McGonagall patted the back of Rose's hand and released it. "Dear me, look at the hour! You'd best be getting back to your common room. It wouldn't do for a prefect to be out of bed and roaming the castle at all hours."

"No, it would probably be dreadfully scandalous," Rose grinned. She got to her feet and brushed off her skirt before gently straightening her badge.

McGonagall nodded and smiled. "I have complete faith in you, Rose Minerva."

"Thanks, Aunt Minnie. I'll try not to muck it up too badly."

"That's the spirit. Goodnight, Rosie."

"Goodnight."

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! Reviews are better than a cup of coffee and good book on a rainy day :)


	23. Chapter 22

The first week of term began and the fifth years of Hogwarts found themselves already crushed under a mountain of homework. The professors, it seemed, had no intention of going easy on their students with O.W.L.s looming ahead. On the second evening of classes Rose, to her indignation, found herself at the library with her friends, obscured from view by a teetering stack of books.

"Rose!" Maren hissed, peering around the books. "Come over here, I need your help on this charms homework."

"One moment," Rose muttered, hastily scrawling the last word of her runes translation. "Ha!" she cried when she finished, throwing her quill down and pumping a fist in the air. "I got it! Professor Scribner said we wouldn't finish it in one day and I did!"

"Shh!" Madam Pince wheezed from an unseen corner of the library.

"Shut it, will you?" Albus whispered, standing up to glare at Rose over the top of her books. "You're going to get us kicked out."

"Sorry," Rose said sheepishly. "Got a bit excited."

"You finished the translation?" Nathan asked from across the table where he sat working through herbology with Lucy.

"Just now." Rose tilted her chin slightly higher in the air. "And Scribner said we wouldn't get it done in just one day."

"Could you help me with it later?" Allie asked, looking up from her potions book. "I think I made a muddle of it earlier."

"Sure," Rose nodded. She took three of the books from the stack in front of her and slid them across the table. "Here, these were loads of help."

"Oh, lovely," Allie trilled, slipping the books into her bag.

"Oy, Weasley, charms," Maren said, pointing to the roll of parchment in front of her. "I need you to tell me how we made that self-cleaning spell work in class this morning."

"Oh, blimey, I don't remember," Rose groaned, running a hand through her hair. "My answer for that one was complete bollocks. I think I just said something about the wand movement ending with a jab."

"Bugger," Maren muttered, pushing the parchment away. She looked around the table. "Oy, Scorpius, do you know the answer to number four on the charms homework?"

"I think it's the enunciation of the incantation," he answered without looking up from his runes translation. "If you aren't careful with pronunciation you just end up casting a polishing charm instead of imbuing the object with the capability to repeatedly clean itself."

"So the way you say the incantation is what makes it work, then," Maren said half to herself, bending over her charms work and raising her quill.

"That's right, I think," Scorpius looked up and nodded. "Though I'm not entirely sure."

"Well, you've got a much better idea than Rose or me," Maren shrugged, scribbling something on her parchment. "Also, Rose, did you finish that transfiguration essay?"

"Ugh, no," Rose moaned. "It's ghastly. Y'know I think Lyncroft set it just to take the piss out of all of us. I can't find the answers to half the questions anywhere in the book."

"Damn it," Maren groaned. "I was counting on having you help me with that."

"Sorry," Rose shook her head.

"At this rate we're going to be in here all night," Maren said with a sigh. She threw her quill down on the table and stretched. "Scorpius, can you help?"

"Sorry," he replied, collecting the textbooks and parchment strewn about his side of the table. "I would, but patrol starts in ten minutes."

"Bollocks, I forgot about that," Rose muttered. Scorpius glanced at her and raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. He dug in his bag for a moment before extracting a roll of parchment, which he handed to Maren.

"Here's my notes from class if you want them for your essay, though. And Johanna was telling me she found a lot of it in the grade six book."

"Why are we writing an essay on something from the bloody grade six book?" Maren grumbled, taking the notes and scanning them.

"I dunno," Scorpius shrugged. "Lyncroft probably wants to be sure we're prepared for O.W.L.s. My dad said sometimes they include things from the grade six curriculum."

"Well that's a load of dung." Maren brushed hair from her face and sighed. "Thanks for the notes, though. Rose, d'you want them when I'm done?"

"Er," Rose bit her lip and peered sideways at Scorpius, who was looking down at his bag and tapping his fingers against the table. "No, that's alright. I'll just have you help me when you're done."

"Suit yourself," Maren said, picking up her quill again. "I'll see you when your patrols are done, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess so." Rose looked at the clock over her shoulder which showed that she and Scorpius were due on the fourth floor in less than ten minutes for their first patrol of the term. "I just have to get my things together." She scrambled to gather her books and quills and parchment, pretending not to notice Scorpius's fingers tapping interminably against the tabletop. She shoved everything unceremoniously in her bag, trying not to wince at the unmistakable snap of her favorite quill breaking underneath her runes textbook. Straightening, she took a breath and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "You ready?" she murmured in Scorpius's direction.

"Mhm," was his only reply. He brushed past her and walked toward the library door. Rose huffed and jogged after him.

The fourth floor was deserted when they arrived, much to Rose's disappointment. It would be nice, she thought, if something could happen to distract her from the horror that was patrolling for two hours with Scorpius. Weren't rounds supposed to be exciting, after all? There were supposed to be troublemakers stealing through the corridors and snogging couples attempting to conceal themselves in broom cupboards and behind tapestries. She and Scorpius should not be the only two people in the vicinity.

He played with the wristband of his watch, sliding his ring finger between the weathered dragonhide and his pale wrist and sliding it around absently. When he moved the watchface back to its place and removed his finger from the band, he dropped his hand to his thigh and began tapping his fingers. Tap tap tap.

Rose pursed her lips and turned to watch the portraits as she passed. One showed a very fat man with a ruff sleeping with a half-finished glass of wine in his hand. The next frame stood empty, with birch trees and spindly shrubs abandoned and slightly windswept. The ornate gold frame afterward held five cherubim; they eyed Rose as she walked by.

"Oy, Gingey," the cherub in the center called out, waving a pudgy arm. "Would ya like to come enjoy a nightcap with us?"

Rose rolled her eyes and kept walking. The portraits of Hogwarts were always entertaining, whatever their other shortcomings.

She and Scorpius walked in silence. Rose spent ten minutes twirling her hair around her finger and another forty-five daydreaming about quidditch trials where she would fly circles around Gabriel Herrick and cast a jellylegs jinx midair. She smothered a giggle at the mental image of him trying to land a broom with his legs dancing spastically beneath him.

Less than ten minutes remained in the patrol when they turned the corner at the tapestry of Sir Carleton and his army of unicorns. Rose's gaze swept over the corridor walls and came to land on a broom cupboard with a dented doorknob and a large scratch on the bottom left corner. She and Theo had frequented that very broom cupboard often last year. Her heart gave a funny tremor in her chest and she bit down hard on her lower lip. Scorpius's fingers continued to tap as she sucked in a breath and averted her eyes.

Tap tap. Tap tap.

How easy that had been last year, when she had been the one scurrying to avoid prefects on patrol! Maybe some couple was holed up in there now, wrapped around each other and hardly daring to breathe until their footsteps passed.

Tap tap. Tap tap.

Of course, if someone had told her last year that she would be made prefect, she would have laughed in their face and said of course not. But here she was, badge and all, patrolling the corridor.

Tap tap tap. Tap. Tap tap.

If she didn't implode under the sheer weight of the responsibility she would surely waste away during one of these infernal, eternal silences. As if the badge itself weren't frightening enough, she was paired up with someone who could barely stand to look at her.

Tap tap. Tap.

Rose peeked to her left to see Scorpius's eyes trained straight ahead, his hands falling to his side. He had his shoulders thrown back so that his chest pushed out slightly further than normal. He was undoubtedly conscious of his posture, pushing his chest forward so that his badge, shiny and glimmering in the flickering candlelight, couldn't be missed even by the most unobservant of passersby.

Tap tap tap, his fingers beat the staccato rhythm against his thigh. Tap tap.

He looked the part, that much was undeniable. Everything about Scorpius Malfoy screamed authoritative. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, or perhaps just his calm demeanor. Either way, he looked the part more than Rose did.

Tap tap.

Had he been as surprised about her selection as she had been?

Tap. Tap tap. Tap.

He had to have been. She hadn't even been expecting it.

Tap. Tap.

He had probably been expecting to get the badge, though. How could he not be? He had been the obvious choice. Ravenclaw had to have at least one prefect who was undoubtedly right for the job.

Tap tap tap.

Had he been angry when he heard she had been made prefect? It was possible. He had probably thought he would get to spend these patrols with Lucy or Allie, talking about whatever it was they talked about.

Tap. Tap tap.

He probably hated the fact they had to patrol together even more than she did. After all, hadn't he told her last year just how much he despised her? And now he was forced to spend two hours twice a week walking the halls of the castle with her, without even Albus as a buffer.

Tap tap tap.

No wonder he was silent.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Will you stop that?" the words jumped from Rose's mouth before she could stop them. Scorpius slowed, his hand coming up to rest on his opposite elbow as he looked at her. "I-I mean, please," Rose said, her voice trailing off. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked at the patch of wall visible beyond his shoulder. "It's driving me mad."

Scorpius watched her for a moment, then nodded, resuming his earlier pace. "Sorry."

Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and continued walking, skipping every few seconds to keep up. She ought to say something more, to combat the heavy silence that draped over them. Scorpius shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched slightly forward, his badge no longer gleaming in the candlelight. Rose bit down harder on her cheek and crossed her arms. She should tell him he could tap his hands if he wanted, if that's what kept him sane during these patrols. He should be able to have that, at the very least. They were both going to have to figure out some way to remain lucid during these hours of reticence.

A screech echoed from around the corner, dragging Rose from her thoughts. She frowned and sped up, hearing Scorpius do the same. They reached the corner just in time to hear a voice shriek, "Duck!"

Rose obeyed, falling almost flat on her stomach as the neon green disc sailed over her. When it was clear it wasn't going to hit her, she looked up and found Scorpius standing over her, knees bent and one arm outstretched. For a moment Rose thought he was trying to help her up, but then she realized he was facing away from her, toward the far end of the corridor where a green speck was growing. The fanged frisbee hurled toward them; Rose heard it come closer and then saw Scorpius shift his weight. A muffled hiss sounded, along with a grunt. Rose glanced up to see Scorpius holding the frisbee gingerly by the edge, his white fingers glowing against acidic green.

"Alright," Scorpius called as he inspected the frisbee, "whose is this? Come here and tell us who you are so we don't have to find a teacher."

Rose clambered to her feet and attempted to smooth her hair, praying that whoever's frisbee it was hadn't seen her drop to the floor as though she'd been stunned. She slowly peered around the corner. A pair of boys stood plastered against the wall underneath one of the sconces. Rose crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows as she rounded on them, trying not to laugh at their wide eyes.

"Was that your frisbee?" she asked as Scorpius's footsteps echoed behind her.

"Er, no," the taller boy, who was clad in jeans and a tartan dressing gown, said slowly. "It's-it's a friend's-"

"Were you the one throwing it in the corridor, though?" Rose asked, raising one eyebrow a degree higher. The boy chewed on his lip, eyes flitting to his friend.

"Y-yes," the shorter boy stammered, his eyes turning to the floor.

"You do know these things are forbidden, right?" Scorpius asked from beside Rose, holding the snarling frisbee up.

"Er-"

"What house are you two in?" Rose asked, cocking her head.

"Gryffindor," the shorter boy muttered.

"Right," Rose nodded. "Well, we'll have to dock you five points each for having a forbidden item in the corridor. But we won't take points for being out of bed past curfew so long as you go back to your common room straight away."

"And we have to confiscate the frisbee," Scorpius added.

"Right," the taller boy said, nodding fervently. "Right. We'll be on, then. Ready, Winston?"

"Yeah," Winston replied, peeling himself off the wall. "S-sorry-"

"Just don't do it again," Scorpius said with a ghost of a smile. "I almost lost a hand trying to catch this thing."

"It's one of the new ones!" the taller boy cried, stopping to grin at them. "It has an extra set of teeth-"

"Boys," Rose broke in, "if you're not on your way to your common room by the time I count to three I'm going to have to take an extra ten points each. One-"

Her subsequent counts were drowned out by the boys' clattering footsteps as they sprinted down the corridor toward the staircase. Rose snorted to herself and then glanced at Scorpius, who was regarding the frisbee with a look of distaste. "It's kind of nice to have a bit of excitement," she mused as she began walking.

"Mhm," Scorpius shrugged. "I don't mind the quiet though."

Rose sighed heavily and tried not to roll her eyes. "Of course you don't." She picked out the lock of hair and began twisting it around her finger again.

If he wanted silence, they could patrol in silence every night. See if she cared.

She perfected her quidditch trials daydream as they walked back to the tapestry of Sir Carleton. She decided that instead of a jellylegs jinx, it would be more effective if she cast a bat bogey hex on Herrick midair; the thought of him trying to retain control of his broom whilst his bogeys flew violently from his nostrils was almost enough to send her into a fit of giggles in the middle of the corridor. When they reached the tapestry, Scorpius glanced at his watch and announced their patrol was over and he was going to the heads' office to drop off the confiscated frisbee and fill out the corresponding report.

"Should I go too for that?" Rose asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

Scorpius made a noncomittal noise. "I don't think it matters."

"Right," Rose nodded slowly, pausing as she played with the strap of her bag. "Well, I suppose I'll be off then."

"Alright," Scorpius turned toward the staircase leading to the heads' office, so his back was to Rose. She waited a moment longer, adjusting and readjusting the strap on her bag.

Scorpius paused and turned back to face her. Rose raised her eyebrows. He shifted the fanged frisbee from his right hand to his left. "Can you tell Lucy I'll give her back her muggle studies notes at breakfast tomorrow?"

"Er-yeah-sure." Rose dropped her hands to her sides, letting her bag swing from its now overly-long strap. Scorpius nodded and moved back to the staircase. Rose sighed, hitched her bag up on her shoulder, and walked the other way to Ravenclaw Tower.

The next morning, as her friends finished fixing their hair and applying their makeup, Rose surveyed herself in the full-length mirror Allie had propped against a wall. Her hair remained in the braid Maren had done the night before and her bare face was unevenly colored but free of blemishes for the time being; her badge, which she had just pinned to the breast of her robes, glittered.

"Comb your hair, darling, or you'll start to look like a merperson," the mirror wheezed.

"Shut it," Rose grumbled, snatching her bag from the floor as she looked toward the bathroom. "Allie! Tell your mirror to be nicer to me!"

"It's not meant to be nice, Rose," Allie said as she walked into the dormitory, blonde hair pinned back behind her ears and her cheekbones a glittery bronze color. "It's meant to be honest."

"Well it's being rude," Rose sniffed, patting her braid which, admittedly, wasn't as tidy as it had been last night.

Allie rolled her eyes and smiled, taking Rose by the arm. "Maybe if you spent a little more time on your hair in the morning Carmela would be nicer."

"Its name is Carmela?" Rose asked, glancing over her shoulder at the mirror and wrinkling her nose.

"Yes," Allie said, looking affronted. "What's wrong with that?"

"I didn't know that people named mirrors."

"Can we go to breakfast, please?" Maren wailed from her bed. "I've been starving since I woke up and you lot are moving _so slow_."

"I'm almost ready!" Lucy called from the bathroom. "Just a few more minutes."

"I can't wait any longer, Lucy!"

"Maren, why don't you and I just go down now and save everyone seats," Rose said, sharing a small smile with Allie. "So you don't starve and Lucy doesn't have to go to class with only half her hair done."

"Brilliant." Maren jumped off her bed and lunged for the door. Rose laughed and followed her out to the staircase.

"I can't believe I'm being escorted to breakfast by a prefect," Maren laughed as they walked through the common room. "That badge really is blinding, y'know."

"Ugh, I hate wearing it," Rose groaned. "You know everybody's been staring at me the last few days whenever I'm in the corridor? It's maddening. I know I wasn't the expected choice but honestly, at this point it's just rude."

"So hex them."

"I can't hex them." Rose rolled her eyes. "I'd get detention and McGonagall just gave me that talk about how I'm a leader-"

"I think she just meant you can yell the loudest of the four of us."

"Right," Rose snorted. They pushed open the common room door and walked out into the corridor behind a group of seventh year boys. One of them turned around and gave the two girls an appraising look, his eyebrows raising slightly as his gaze swept over Rose.

"That was odd," Maren whispered when the seventh year turned back to his friends. "Reckon he wants to ask one of us to Hogsmeade?"

"I hope not." Rose grimaced. "I've had one date to Hogsmeade and I hope I never have another."

"Well if you had another it wouldn't be with Matthew Corner."

"Urgh, still."

The Great Hall teemed with students. The two girls wove through the chaos and found an empty section of the Ravenclaw table. Rose sat down and immediately grabbed a muffin, taking a large bite before Maren was even seated.

"What've we got today?" Maren asked vaguely, pulling her schedule out of her bag and frowning. "Ugh, double potions and double herbology. That'll be a nightmare."

"Wha' 're we doi' to'ay?" Rose forced out through a mouthful of muffin.

"I dunno about potions but for herbology I think someone said Longbottom's having us prune a chimera cactus," Maren answered. "And I don't know what that is but it sounds ghastly."

"It sounds awful." Rose made a face and took another bite. "Par'ners?"

"You had to ask?" Maren laughed, putting the schedule away and scanning the hall. "Oh, here come Lucy and Allie. D'you reckon they know what a chimera cactus is?"

The morning passed by slowly, though not unpleasantly. Double potions was more bearable than usual as Professor Lecher decided to allow the class to brew their choice of O.W.L. standard potion. Rose and Maren spent the class brewing an uncontrollable giggling serum, testing it on an unsuspecting Albus at the end.

To Rose's irritation, she still received several stares in the corridor between classes. She folded her arms across her chest as she walked to lunch, leaning forward slightly in an effort to hide her badge from view.

At lunch, as Rose helped herself to pot pie, she had the misfortune to look down the table just as Theo and Helena were sitting down; his hand guided her back gently. Helena lowered herself gracefully into the seat and brushed a sheet of blonde hair over her shoulder as she surveyed the food on the table. Her eyes landed on the pot pie in front of Rose, and then moved upward to rest on Rose herself, fork suspended and unabashedly gawking. Helena raised an eyebrow and leaned back, tapping Theo on the shoulder. With one eye still on Rose, she whispered something. Theo frowned and then nodded, his eyes darting to look at Rose and just as quickly flitting back to his lap. He put an arm around Helena's waist and whispered.

Rose pushed away her plate away and turned determinedly in the other direction, joining without invitation or introduction Nathan and Maren's conversation about quidditch tactics.

"I just don't understand," she hissed to Allie as they made their way to ancient runes, passing a gaggle of fourth year Ravenclaw girls who whispered and sent indiscreet glances in their direction. "This isn't happening to any other prefect."

"Are you sure it's because you're a prefect?" Allie asked, eyebrows coming together.

"I don't know what else it would be," Rose said, biting her lip.

"Maybe Dom's done something else to end up in the magazines and you just haven't seen it yet," Allie suggested. "That would make people stare."

"Maybe," Rose shrugged. "Why am I the only one, though? There's loads of Weasleys at school." She sighed shook her head. "Oh well. I suppose it doesn't matter all that much."

"There you go," Allie nodded. "And anyways, it's not such a bad thing. I wish loads of people stared at me as I walked to class."

"Nah," Rose shook her head. "It's strange."

"It's better than being ignored."

"I'll tell you what," Rose said, "next time I catch someone looking at me in the corridor I'll just kindly tell them to look at you instead. You're much prettier anyways, so they'll probably be grateful."

"Rose-"

"Come on," Rose laughed as they walked into the classroom. "I'm sure everyone would much rather look at you. You're much more interesting than I am."

By the time dinner arrived, Rose had half a mind to remove the sodding prefect badge from her robes. She took her seat beside Maren and snatched the potato dish, heaping a spoonful onto her plate.

"Hungry are we?" Maren snorted.

Rose merely grunted.

"Mind you don't eat the entire table, please," Maren shrugged, pulling forward a soup tureen. "It'd be a bit embarrassing."

"Mrgh."

"Has anyone started that potions essay yet?" Lucy asked from across the table, her forkful of green beans suspended in the air.

"I wrote out the similarities between the potions from a library book but that's all," Scorpius said beside her. "I can give it to you tonight if you'd like."

"Lovely, and I still have your muggle studies book as well." Lucy bit off the end of a green bean and chewed slowly.

"Brilliant," Scorpius nodded. His face lit up as he looked from Lucy to something over behind Rose, raising his hand in a wave. Rose twisted in her set to see Henry Winkle approaching.

"Hey, Winkle," Scorpius said as Henry came to stand behind Rose. "Come to remind us when trials are?"

"Er, no, actually." Henry put his hands in his pocket and shifted his weight, moving so he stood beside Rose. His eyes flickered from Scorpius to Maren and finally to Rose, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "Er," he murmured quietly, "Weasley, I wanted to talk to you."

"Abou' wha'?" Rose mumbled, hurrying to swallow as she looked up.

"You know what," Henry muttered, his ears going slightly pink. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"No?" Rose cocked her head to the side and frowned. "What is it?"

"Come on, Rose," the crease disappeared as Henry's brows met. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at her. "Don't be difficult about it."

Rose turned back to her plate and rolled her eyes. "Henry, I have no bloody idea what you're talking about."

"Fine," he snapped, hands dropping to his side as he leaned closer to her. "I heard what happened with you and Herrick and you two should've told me straight away. If this affects your performance on the pitch-"

"What?" Rose sputtered, nearly choking on her fork. "What are you on about?"

"I heard about the ball," Henry said, straightening slightly. His ears flamed now and a bit of pink had crept to his cheeks. "And I don't-I mean-ugh, I'm not here to lecture you and I truly don't want any more information but just-try to keep things appropriate at practice and for the love of Merlin if anything like this happens again, you have to tell me."

Rose straightened in her seat and narrowed her eyes. "You're here to lecture me about going with Herrick to last year's ball?"

"Come off it, Rose, you know that's not it" he said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Look, I'm not trying to be a prat-"

"Well you're being one," Rose snapped, snatching the pitcher of pumpkin juice so forcefully it sloshed over the table. "So sod off."

"Rose-"

"Winkle, lay off," Maren broke in, giving Henry a pointed look. "This isn't any of your business."

Henry scowled but then deflated. "Fine," he muttered, turning away, "but this better not cost us the sodding cup-"

"It won't cost us anything ," Maren said to his retreating back. When he had returned to his seat she turned to Rose. "What was his problem?"

"No idea," Rose shook her head, glowering at her potatoes. "So what if I went to the ball with Herrick? It's not like we're going out or anything."

"Some second year probably said something about you two going together and got their facts mixed up," Maren said, giving Rose's shoulder a squeeze and returning to her food. "They can be rather daft."

"Maybe he's angry you spent the entire night snogging Herrick," Lucy broke in, frowning at Rose.

"I didn't snog him all night," Rose said, folding her arms.

"Yes you did," Lucy replied, tilting her chin up. "I saw you."

"For your information, we only snogged once at the very beginning," Rose retorted. "And I'm surprised you could see anything being that you were too distracted snogging Nathan to even talk to me."

Lucy inhaled sharply and set her fork down with a clang. "If you want to talk about being _distracted_ , Rose-"

"Lucy, calm down," Allie said, her soft voice cutting through the cousins' glowers. Lucy's face smoothed and she retrieved her fork, taking another small bite and looking anywhere but at Rose.

Rose pushed her plate away, no longer hungry. "If you must know," she mumbled to the table, "we snogged once and then he ran off with another girl." Her face flamed and she twisted a piece of hair around her finger.

Lucy didn't say anything. Beside her, Scorpius seemed to nod. Rose ignored him, wishing he would just vanish. There couldn't be anything much more embarrassing than admitting in front of Scorpius that she had been ditched at the Victory Ball.

"I'm not hungry anymore," she announced, pushing her plate away and jumping to her feet. "I'll be in the dormitory."

"Do you want someone to go with you?" Allie asked.

"I'll go," Maren said, grabbing a dinner roll and getting to her feet. "I've got loads of homework to get done anyways."

As Maren gathered her bag, Rose surveyed the Ravenclaw table, bile rising as she caught sight of various students indiscreetly watching her. "Ready?" she asked, tearing her gaze away.

"Yeah," Maren grunted as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

They made to the seventh floor and into the nearly deserted common room. As they ascended the spiral staircase to their dormitory, footsteps greeted them.

"Fancy seeing you here again," Katrina DeMarco laughed when she came into view. "Rose, I feel as though I only ever see you on the stairs."

"If we were in divination they would probably say that's some sort of horrible sign," Rose said with a small smile. She pointed toward Katrina's bulging bag. "Library?"

"Unfortunately," Katrina replied with a grimace. "Lyncroft's set us a ghastly essay for next class."

"Urgh, I always forget N.E.W.T. years are supposed to be even worse than O.W.L.s," Maren groaned.

Katrina shrugged. "We all have to do it, I suppose. How's your night been so far?"

"Irritating," Rose grumbled. "Henry came up to me at dinner yelling about how I went to the ball with Herrick."

Katrina regarded her with a smirk, eyebrows raised. "He finally heard about what happened then?"

"What do you mean what happened?" Rose asked. "Nothing happened."

"Well, everyone saw you two snogging."

"Okay?" Rose snorted. "Merlin, I can't believe he got his knickers that much in a twist over a little kiss."

"I don't think it's the kissing so much as everything else."

Rose blanched. "What do you mean everything else?"

"Well Herrick said you two snuck off to a broom cupboard-"

" _He what?_ " Rose yelped, her eyes going wide.

"-and did a bit more than snogging."

"He-he's telling people we shagged?" Rose stammered, her stomach feeling as though someone had just dropped a bludger in it.

Katrina shook her head. "Er-no-he said-what was it? 'A goal through each hoop but no snitch."

Rose swallowed heavily; the floor seemed to wobble underneath her and she felt Maren take hold of her arm.

Katrina suddenly frowned and leaned forward, regarding Rose carefully. "Rose?"

"That's not true," Rose said fervently. "It's not true, Katrina. I mean, I kissed him at the very beginning but that was all. And then I hardly saw him the rest of the night."

Katrina softened and put a hand on Rose's arm. "Look, I know it's not fun to have people talking-"

It's not true, Katrina! It's not!"

"Rose-"

"I hardly saw him!" Rose cried, stamping her foot. "He went off with another girl and I spent the evening with my friends!"

"Oh, Rose," Katrina's face fell. "So you didn't-"

"No! I wouldn't! I didn't!"

"Oh dear," Katrina exhaled and stepped closer, putting an arm around Rose's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Rose didn't go to breakfast the next morning. When Maren came back to the dormitory to walk to transfiguration, she hardly said a word.

"Would it make you feel better if I punched him?" Maren asked. "I'd be quick about it. He wouldn't even know it was me."

"No," Rose said with a weak smile as they passed a group of chattering slytherins. Adele Ahlgren caught Rose's eye and gave a half-hearted wave before turning back to her friends. "It'll be okay. I just want everyone to stop bloody talking about it."

They walked into the classroom and Rose felt eyes fall upon her. A group of Hufflepuff girls sitting in the corner whispered without even bothering to hide their stares. Rose kept her eyes down and dropped into her seat.

"Rose?" Johanna Amal appeared beside her, dark eyes crinkling at the corners.

"What?" Rose bit out.

"Er, never mind if you don't-"

"No, I'm sorry," Rose sighed, pushing her hair back. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to say I don't think those rumors about you are true," Johanna said. "And, er, I'm trying to make people be kinder."

Rose blinked. "Oh. Well, er, thank you."

Johanna nodded and awkwardly turned to go back to her seat. Rose glanced at Maren and shrugged. "That's probably the only good thing that's going to happen today, isn't it?"

As if on cue, one of the Hufflepuffs at the back screeched, "Ew, she did _that_?" Rose sent the girl a withering glare, ceasing only when Professor Flitwick wobbled into the room and announced the beginning of class.

The rest of the morning passed in a similar manner. While nobody was openly rude, murmurs and stares followed Rose down the corridors and into classrooms. Though she thought privately that she would rather eat her own shoes, she walked with her friends into the Great Hall for lunch accompanied by murmurs and giggles. She had barely made it through the doors when she was nearly knocked over by Fred, red-faced and clutching his wand.

"There you are," he said, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder and stooping slightly to look her in the eye. "Are you alright? I was looking for you at breakfast and Lucy said you stayed in your dormitory."

"I'm fine," Rose muttered, her face flushing as she looked away. "I just didn't want to come down until I had to."

"Right," Fred nodded. "Now, where is that slimy git? James and I came up with a list of hexes to use on him."

"Oh, Fred, please don't," Rose said, covering her face as she hurried to sit down. "Please, you'll only make it worse."

"Rosie, if he thinks he can say that and get away with it-"

"Just leave it alone," Rose pleaded, dropping into a seat. "If you hex him then everyone will see it-"

"That's the idea."

"-and everyone will just talk more and I'll have to move to Romania with Uncle Charlie."

Fred paused and lowered his wand, his face thawing slightly. "You're sure you don't want us to do do it? Not even one little jellylegs jinx?"

Rose nodded fervently. "Positive."

Fred sighed and sat down beside her. "Alright. But if you change your mind, you let me know."

"Deal," Rose grimaced. "Though right now I'd almost rather have you hex me so I can go to the hospital wing instead of class."

"It's been that bad?"

"Dreadful," Rose murmured. She kept her eyes determinedly on the table in front of her as she loaded food onto her plate. "People are horrible."

"They are," Fred said sagely. "And Herrick is a sack of dung."

Rose snorted. "A sack of dung covered in hair potions." She glanced down the table, where the sack of dung sat with a group of seventh years, his golden waves perfectly formed as usual. She fingered her wand in her pocket and bit her lip. "Fred?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I think if I change my mind I'll just hex him myself."

"Really," Fred replied, eyes dancing. "That's the way to do it. And if anyone else says anything to you, just put a lip-lock jinx on them so they shut up."

Rose laughed . "I hadn't thought of that."

"That's what I'm here for."

After lunch, Rose walked with Maren down to the greenhouses for herbology. Allie and Lucy met them just outside the castle doors, each carrying an armful of books.

"I think I've got all the ones Scorpius mentioned for the potions essay," Lucy muttered, tottering down the walkway. "Though I couldn't find the one on saliva-based extracts. D'you reckon someone else has it?"

"I dunno who in their right mind would want to read that other than you," Maren replied, hitching her bag further up her shoulder and tossing her hair.

"It's supposed to be very useful," Lucy said crossly, shifting the books so they leaned against her left shoulder instead of her right.

"Doesn't mean anybody really needs to read it."

"Which greenhouse are we in today?" Allie asked, looking over her own stack of books which, from what Rose could tell, all appeared to be guides for rune translations.

"Four," Rose said. "Thank Merlin, I'd freeze otherwise."

"Ugh, that means we're doing something with that cactus again," Allie sniffed. "I didn't enjoy that last time at all."

"I didn't think it was that bad," Rose said.

"I broke a nail trying to prune it!"

"You grew it right back."

"But now it's not even with the others and the color is all wrong."

Rose shrugged. "I have my keeping gloves in my bag if you want to wear them."

"You do?" Allie brightened. "Would you mind terribly if I borrowed them?"

"Nah." Rose shook her head. "Just mind you don't rip them."

They reached the greenhouse and joined the cluster of fifth years waiting outside the door. Rose bounced from one foot to the other, wishing she had thought to wear a jumper under her robes. She always forgot how quickly summer receded once the term began.

"Oy, Weasley!" Julian Babcock, a Gryffindor boy near the front of the queue called out. Rose narrowed her eyes and looked up, her hand clasping her wand lightly in her pocket. "Would you like to go to the ball with me?" He glanced toward his friends and grinned as he continued, "I heard you're the best date."

With hardly a thought, Rose's wand came free of her pocket and pointed at Julian as an incantation fled her lips. A jet of light appeared, followed by Julian's squeal as large, flapping bogeys came shooting out of his nostrils.

The crowd burst into shrieks and laughter, as people ducked to avoid colliding with the bat-bogeys and the boy's friends converged on him to perform the counter-curse.

"What's going on?" The door to the greenhouse must have opened in the midst of the commotion, because Neville stood in the doorway carrying a large potted cactus, surveying the scene in front of him with bewilderment. Rose watched as his eyes flickered to Julian still lying on the ground with his bogeys violently fleeing his nose, to her wand still poised for combat. He stepped toward Julian and bent down, taking out his wand and murmuring an incantation.

"Everybody inside now, please," Neville said as he got to his feet, assisting a very pale Julian. He gestured toward the door. "Before I have to take points." The queue of students hastily obeyed, trotting into the greenhouse. "Rose, stay out here a moment, please," he said evenly when she made to enter.

Rose ducked her head and stepped to the side, cheeks burning. When everyone else was inside the greenhouse, Neville turned to her.

"I'm very disappointed," he said, motioning toward her wand which hung limply in her hand.

"I'm sorry," Rose mumbled. "I wasn't thinking."

"No you weren't. And this coming from a prefect, too, is unacceptable. I'm taking twenty points from Ravenclaw."

"I know. I shouldn't have let him wind me up like that."

Neville raised his eyebrows. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," Rose shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Are you quite sure?"

"Yes." She nodded. "So do I have detention then?"

"Tonight at eight o'clock sharp," Neville said crisply, taking hold of the greenhouse door. "Don't bring your wand."

Rose left detention that night feeling a bit lighter; it hadn't been as awful as she'd thought. Neville just had her repot some new Moning Maple saplings and let her go ten minutes early, giving her a small smile as he said she surely had homework to catch up on. Rose traipsed down the corridor toward Ravenclaw Tower, playing with the sleeve of her robes and humming to herself. With a whistling sound, something moist grazed her ear. Then something sticky hit the back of her head. Rose put her hand to her hair, and nearly screamed when she saw her hand covered in black ink.

"Ickle Weasley, running all alone," Peeves chanted as he descended from the ceiling, his arms laden with ink pellets. He launched another one at Rose, which she dodged by running behind the statue of Uric the Oddball. "You can't hide," he cackled, throwing another pellet which hit Rose's shoulder. Using her bag as a shield, she darted from the statue and around the corner to the girls' seventh floor lavatory. She shut the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. On the other side of the door, she could hear ink pellets hitting the wall as Peeves shouted, "Students out of bed, beware!"

Deciding she wouldn't put it past Peeves to find a way into the girls' lavatory, Rose walked into one of the empty cubicles and shut the door, peeking at the shoes occupying the floor on either side of her. After a few seconds, a flush came from the cubicle to her left, followed almost immediately by a flush from the right. Footsteps clapped against the tile floor and two voices emanated over the rush of the faucet.

"D'you think Peeves has gone yet?" the first girl, who sounded like Amalia Villanueva, a seventh year Gryffindor, asked.

"Probably," the second answered; if Rose wasn't mistaken, it was the voice of Mirabelle Crouse. "He doesn't very much like to stay in one place too long if nobody's there."

"We should still wait a mo'," Amalia mused as the faucet shut off. "I don't fancy getting ink in my hair on the way back."

"Alright," Mirabelle said airily. "Though we can't wait too long. I want to try and talk to Davies tonight."

"You've said that the last three nights!"

"And tonight I'm actually going to do it!"

Rose smiled to herself; they were definitely Gryffindors.

"Did you hear what Idina said she heard about that Herrick bloke?" Mirabelle asked.

"Margo told me in charms today," Amalia answered. "D'you reckon it's true?"

Rose breathed in. Taking care to be as quiet as possible, she ducked down and peered below the cubicle door. Yes, Amalia and Mirabelle stood by the faucets, both in jeans and t-shirts.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was," Mirabelle paused and there was the sound of shifting fabric. "I've heard what he's like."

Rose froze in the cubicle, wondering what the best thing to do would be. She could stay in the cubicle and listen to the gossip circulating about her supposed tryst at the ball or she could stalk out and join the two older girls at the faucet; the latter could go one of two ways, she reasoned. Either she would have a private laugh at their shocked expressions and waltz back to Ravenclaw Tower, or they would snigger and sneer at her. The thought of receiving derision from one more student, especially Fred and James's classmates, was enough to fill her stomach with lead and clamp her mouth shut.

"Hm, that's true," Amalia said. "I dunno, I just never would've thought he'd go for someone like her. I mean she's pretty, but she's what, a fifth year?"

"He probably just wanted to say he shagged a Weasley," came Mirabelle's tart reply.

"It's possible," Amalia replied, trailing off. "But-I mean-there's so many to choose from."

"Well, Dominique rejected him, remember? Maybe this time he just found one with low enough standards."

"I dunno," Amalia said. "To hear Fred and James tell it, the girl's a saint."

"Oh, please," Mirabelle said disdainfully. "You know she was shagging that Vance bloke all last year?"

"No," Amalia gasped.

"Yes, Ambria Hofstadt told me."

"Ugh, it's always the ones you least expect who turn out to be the biggest slags."

"I mean," Mirabelle replied, "can you really say you didn't expect it? One of the younger ones had to be a little wild. And Fred says that Rose absolutely worships Dominique."

"Well, hopefully he and James are able to keep her straightened out. D'you remember all the stories about Dom?"

"At least she got everything together before graduating. Can you imagine if _Witch Weekly_ got ahold of some of those old stories?"

"Ha! That would be amazing." There was a pause and some shuffling.

"D'you think it's safe to leave now? Is Peeves still out there?"

"I don't know, go check."

"No, what if he's there waiting for us?"

"Ugh, fine, we'll walk out together. Ready?"

"No."

Footsteps clacked, door hinges whinged, and the girls' voices faded. Rose remained in the cubicle, arms wrapped tight around her torso, nose and throat clogged with mucus and bile. She sniffled and ran her sleeve across her nose to catch the excess sludge as tears trailed freely down her cheeks, soaking the fabric and falling into her collar.

When it became apparent the tears weren't going to stop anytime soon, she left the bathroom, gently closing the door behind her, and walked back to Ravenclaw Tower.

Dim light filled the common room, which held a smattering of students at the small tables and in armchairs. Most ignored her and Rose kept her head down, unwilling to risk anyone seeing her shiny, blotchy face and runny nose. As she approached the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory she hiccuped slightly. She leaned against the banister for a moment at the base of the first step, staring intently at the floor and trying to will the tears back into her skull.

"Nobody believes him," Scorpius, whom she hadn't noticed sitting alone at a nearby table, said quietly.

Rose swallowed heavily, trying and failing to stifle a hiccup. "How would you know?"

Scorpius inhaled softly, though his voice remained even. "I know a bit about what it's like to have people say nasty things about you. Nobody who knows you believes them."

A hiccup. She dragged her sleeve across her nose again, not caring that he was watching her. "Right. Well-" her voice broke and without saying anything more she scrambled up the stairs, taking care not to look back.

At first glance her dormitory appeared empty but as Rose walked in she realized Lucy was sitting in bed, one of the potions books opened in her lap.

"Maren said to tell you she'll be back within an hour," Lucy murmured, tugging at the end of her ponytail.

Rose nodded slowly, sinking into bed without bothering to change into her pajamas. "Thank you."

Lucy didn't answer and Rose, after a moment's consideration, decided she was too tired to attempt conversation. She was too tired to talk to anyone anymore. So she simply curled up, wrapped the midnight blue duvet around her shoulders and burrowed into her pillows, allowing the painful dam building up in her chest and behind her eyes to burst.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are better than double dark chocolate espresso fudge :)


	24. Chapter 23

Rose walked through the corridors with her head down for the rest of the week, ignoring the smirks and whispers that followed her like mosquitoes. The gossip had cooled somewhat, and nobody engaged her directly since Julian Babcock had told anyone who would listen about his ordeal with flying bogeys. But stares and cocked eyebrows still met Rose in the corridors and it seemed several of her classmates couldn't look at her without giggling. Rose did her best to ignore it, telling herself that even if most of the school thought she had done disgusting things with Gabriel Herrick in a broom cupboard, at least they feared her hexing abilities.

Monday morning found the Ravenclaw fifth years sitting at breakfast, with the last of the owls just flying away.

"Say, Rose," Maren said from beside her, half a muffin in her hand. "Did you see the notice board in the common room when we walked down?"

"Hm?" Rose asked, twisting a piece of hair around her finger as she leafed through the pages of _Anna Karenina._

"The board," Maren repeated. "Winkle finally put a notice up. Trials are this weekend."

Rose bit her lip and turned the page. "Oh."

"What?" Maren set her muffin down and peered at her. "You don't have patrols then, do you?"

"Er, no," Rose mumbled. "I don't think so."

"Good," Maren exhaled, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. "Henry'd go spare if you missed. Have you thought about what drills you want to practice this week? I reckon we can go down to the pitch tonight since we won't have any potions or transfiguration homework due tomorrow. Does that work for you, Scorpius?"

"I think so," Scorpius nodded from across the table.

"Right," Maren looked back at Rose. "So you can come then and we'll all-"

"I don't know if I'll go," Rose broke in, looking up from her book at last.

"You have to practice, Rose." Maren rolled her eyes. "Even you're not good enough to just show up at trials without practicing and expect-"

"No," Rose shook her head. "I-er-I don't know if I'll go to trials."

Nobody said anything. Maren's eyes went wide; Allie looked up from her plate and cocked her head to the side, brown eyes crinkling at the corner as she surveyed Rose. Scorpius looked down at his plate. Lucy glanced up from her transfiguration book and then swiftly looked away. Rose snatched a piece of toast from a nearby plate and shoved half of it in her mouth, waiting for someone else to say something.

She didn't have to wait long.

"What do you mean you don't want to go to trials?" Maren burst out, turning so abruptly she upset a jug of pumpkin juice.

Rose swallowed and shrugged, watching the juice trail toward the edge of the table and pool there. "I don't want to. I don't know if I can do it. I mean-" she looked up and bit her lip.

"You're our keeper! You have to be there!"

"I don't have to-"

"Rose," Allie broke in, "is this about Herrick?"

"I-" Rose opened and closed her mouth before finally crying out, "he'll be there! He will be, and so will everyone-"

"You can't let him get to you like that," Allie murmured, looking over her shoulder before leaning closer. "All his stories are a load of dung and everyone knows it. And you love quidditch! You can't-"

"I don't fancy being surrounded by people who think I'm a slag!" Rose hissed, hunching forward and rubbing her face. Her eyes stung. "I just-I can't do it-"

"Nobody thinks that-"

"You don't know that! They're not talking about me anymore but people still think I-we-did-you know-"

"But it's over now," Maren said, her eyebrows knitting together.

"No it's not," Rose whispered. "People still stare-"

"They always stare."

"Well it's different. I can feel it."

"Well then let them stare if they like and go on with your life." Maren put an arm on her shoulder and raised her eyebrows. "If anyone says anything to you on the pitch just knock them off their broom."

"But it won't-if he's there every day-" Rose mumbled. She looked up and met Maren's eyes, her lips trembling. "I don't want to be on a team with him. And you know he'd be awful-"

"Tell Henry," Maren said.

"What good would that do?" Rose's shoulders slumped and she picked at her thumb nail. "He thinks it's true and if I go to him now and say it's not true he'll just think I'm embarrassed and that's why I'm denying it. That's what everyone else thinks."

"Katrina doesn't think that."

"She's different. And anyways, what can Henry do?" Rose put her head in her hands. "I can't ask him to not give Herrick his spot just because he's a prick."

Maren frowned. "I don't see why not."

"He's the captain, he can't be involved in everyone's problems. And he can't let those things change who's on the team."

"He can if one of the team members is a walking sack of shit."

"I just-" Rose paused and drew breath, shaking her head. "I can't ask him that. And Herrick would probably just make up another rumor when people asked why he was kicked off. Probably say we shagged in the locker room or something-"

"Come off it," Maren stared at her. "So you're just going to quit?"

"I'm not quitting!" Rose cried, tugging at the end of her hair. "It's just a-a break-"

"But you love quidditch," Allie murmured.

"He'll ruin it," Rose replied.

"Well," Allie said slowly, picking at one of her nails. "Just think about it. If you don't want to do it that's understandable. But just-be sure."

"You're certain you can't just talk to Winkle?" Maren asked. "I'm sure he'd-"

"No." Rose shook her head. She looked around the table and then picked up her bag. "And I think it's nearly time for class. We should go."

Maren hesitated, picking up her glass of pumpkin juice and putting it down without taking a sip. She shook her head slightly before picking up her bag and facing Rose.

"You really don't want to-"

"We should go to class," Rose repeated, fiddling with the strap of her bag. "I don't want to be late. It'd look bad for a prefect to have two detentions in the first week, yeah?"

"Of course," Allie said, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin and standing up. "Thank you for those runes books, by the way, they were lifesavers."

"Not a problem." Rose gave a small smile, turning away from the table as Lucy and Scorpius rose silently. "I can show you where most of the runes books are in the library, if you'd like."

"Oh, that'd be wonderful," Allie chirped. "You know, I think if I could just read everything myself outside of class I'd get it much better than I do now."

Rose led the group across the Great Hall, her eyes staying straight ahead of her. She nodded at Allie's words. "That makes sense. It helps to go over everything after class ends. Helps it stick in your head."

They reached the oak doors of the Great Hall. Rose reached for the handle and looked up, pausing for a moment as she saw Mirabelle Crouse leaning against the wall. The older girl glanced at Rose, her eyes swiftly examining her, appraising her, judging; they stayed on Rose's face a fraction of a second longer than was normal as the corners of her mouth curled up. Rose dropped her eyes to her shoes, cheeks burning as she pushed through the doors and into the corridor.

* * *

The week crawled by. Rose forced herself to concentrate only on her own routine: classes, meals, homework, bed. The stares diminished somewhat as people found other things to be distracted by and on Thursday they stopped entirely as the entire school buzzed over a story of two slytherin seventh years who had been caught snogging in Professor Lyncroft's office.

"I feel rather sorry for them," Allie murmured that night in the library, applying glistening potion to her lips and scrutinizing the effect in the reflection of her potion scales. "I mean, it's awfully embarrassing. And Johanna said she was on patrol when it happened and Professor Lyncroft really lit into them."

"I dunno," Rose muttered, shrugging as she scrawled another line of her transfiguration essay. "I'm just glad nobody's talking about me anymore."

"People stopped talking about you ages ago," Maren said from beside Rose. She turned and raised her eyebrows. "Why, has somebody said something?"

"No," Rose shook her head. "It just always seems like-"

"The rest of the school won't move on if you don't, Rose," Allie said gently, placing a hand on Rose's forearm. "If you act like it's done then everyone else will follow."

"I've been acting as though it's done!"

"I know, you've been lovely, considering everything." Allie tucked her scales back in her bag and turned to the open charms textbook in front of her.

"Ugh," Rose groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "I just wish I didn't have to see Amalia and Mirabelle everywhere. I still feel as though they're always staring at me-"

Maren shook her head. "What do you care what those two cows think of you?"

"Maren!" Allie cried. "Don't be rude."

"Don't be rude?" Maren demanded. "Allie, did you not hear what they said-"

"Just because they acted like banshees doesn't mean you have to stoop to their level."

"Fine," Maren huffed, turning back to her arithmancy. "But the next person who says something about you is getting hexed," she said to Rose.

"Excellent." Rose scratched out the last sentence of her essay and sighed as she laid her quill down. "Is there any chance one of you wants to do my patrols for me tonight?"

"Nope," Maren said, popping the 'p.'

"Wouldn't that be against the rules?" Allie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno," Rose shrugged. "I don't think anyone would really notice."

"You could go find Lucy and ask her," Allie said. "She'd probably do it."

"No she wouldn't," Rose muttered, picking up her quill and twirling it. "She'd just bite my head off about my _duties_ and how I'm obviously neglecting them."

"And anyways, she's probably snogging Nathan right now and I don't think anyone wants to see that," Maren said sagely.

"Blech." Rose mimed vomiting. "I _definitely_ don't want to see that."

"Don't say it like that," Allie said reproachfully. "Lucy and Nathan can snog as much as they like."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I want to be aware of it."

"We were all aware of the fact you and Theo were snogging last year."

"But you weren't friends with him, so it really doesn't compare." Rose sniffed and turned her nose up in the air. "It's one thing to know your cousin's snogging someone but another thing entirely to know she's snogging your _friend_ -"

"I really don't think-"

"It's just not something I'd like to think about." Rose shook her head and glanced up at the clock. "Oh, bugger," she muttered. "I'd better leave for patrols. Wouldn't want to leave Malfoy waiting, now would I?"

"Don't be unpleasant," Allie chirped without looking up from her charms textbook.

"I'm never unpleasant," Rose replied, flicking loose curls over her shoulder as she shoved her books and parchment into her bag. She stood and brushed off her skirt before slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'm always perfectly cordial."

"Right," Maren snorted, shaking her head at her parchment. "Be _cordial,_ then. And mind you don't interrupt Lucy and Nathan snogging in a broom cupboard."

"Gross," Rose called over her shoulder as she trotted toward the library door.

She arrived at the fourth floor corridor two minutes after their patrol was scheduled to start.

"Sorry," she said brusquely to Scorpius, rummaging in her bag for her badge. She found it nestled between an inkpot and her transfiguration textbook. She tugged it free and pinned it to her robes. It was slightly crooked but that didn't matter, Rose reasoned. All that mattered was that the badge was visible so if they had to stop anyone or dock points she was identifiable as a prefect.

"Are you ready?"

She looked up, her hands dropping to her sides. Scorpius stood halfway down the corridor, watching her with raised eyebrows. Rose pursed her lips and hitched her bag higher up her shoulder.

"Yes," she bit out.

"Good," Scorpius replied, turning to look at his watch. "It's five past."

"Sorry for the inconvenience," Rose murmured with as much civility as she could muster. She made her way down the corridor with slow, measured steps, in no hurry to reach him. Scorpius remained absorbed in his watch, his left hand dropping down to his side. He began tapping his index finger against his thigh.

Rose ground her teeth as she came to a stop beside him. He continued tapping. She crossed her arms, tapping her foot. Without a word, Scorpius began walking down the corridor. Rose huffed and tripped after him.

The fourth floor seemed deserted. Even the picture frames hung empty, their occupants having gone to visit friends in other, more interesting corners of the castle. Rose chewed the inside of her cheek as her eyes slid over the wall decor. An abandoned portrait backdrop showed a desert with a rather lopsided elephant meandering across the plains; a bust of Frederic the Fearless sniffled and then sneezed.

She always forgot that the castle was more than just a building; it was alive. They turned the corner and Rose grinned as the suits of armor snapped to their rigid posture. She wondered what they did in the dead of night when there were no students or teachers about.

The thought struck Rose that Hogwarts teemed with life even during the day, she just never noticed. Really, if she looked around, it seemed that everything was animated. Three monks snored in their frame, their half-filled wine glasses perpetually in danger of spilling. The tapestry of the Nottingham Goblin Rebellion of 1642 fluttered and giggled.

"Wait," Rose mumbled, turning back toward the tapestry. Goblins didn't giggle; and if they did, their giggles certainly weren't that high pitched. Scorpius paused as Rose stepped closer to the tapestry, which she now saw was concealing two figures. Rose took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She was a prefect, she reminded herself, glancing down at her badge. This was what she was meant to do on patrols, make sure that nobody was snogging behind tapestries of goblin rebellions. She moved closer so she was directly in front of the tapestry.

"Er," she stammered, "I mean, ahem." She cleared her throat. "If you're-whoever's there-"

The tapestry shifted suddenly. Rose had barely registered that Scorpius had appeared beside her and pushed the hanging to the side when her gaze fell on the couple who stood red-faced and frozen behind it.

"Fred?" she sputtered, taking a step back.

"Er, hey there, Rosie," Fred said, looking down at the floor and rubbing the back of his neck, which had flamed a brilliant scarlet. "I take it you're on patrol tonight?"

"Er-"

"Well," Fred continued, half to himself, "I guess I should've checked." He turned suddenly to the girl whose waist his arm still wrapped around. "Er, sorry, Amalia, have you met my cousin Rose before?"

Amalia Villanueva, her face tinged faintly pink but otherwise betraying no sign of embarrassment, raised an eyebrow. Her dark eyes swept over Rose as she brushed a piece of hair off her face. "Ah, no, I don't think so."

Rose opened and closed her mouth, rocking from her heels to her toes as she looked between the two. "I-"

"We'll have to dock you points," Scorpius's voice rang out. Rose jumped and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Er, yeah," she nodded, letting out a breath and motioning toward Scorpius. "What he said. Sorry, you know I wouldn't-"

"But it's the rule," Scorpius said evenly.

"Of course," Fred said with a sheepish smile. "Wouldn't want Rosie neglecting her prefect duties for me."

"Especially when it sounds like she takes rules very seriously," Amalia added, her eyes meeting Rose's and the corner of her mouth quirking up. Rose frowned and looked away.

"So that's ten points each from Gryffindor," Scorpius said, "for being out of the common room and engaging in-er- _non-academic_ activities in the corridor."

"Just say snogging, mate," Fred muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows but otherwise didn't respond.

"Right," Rose said hurriedly, her face growing steadily warmer as she crossed and uncrossed her arms, trying to find a posture that felt both natural and authoritative. "And, er, you should really get back to your common room." Her index finger hooked around a lock of hair and began to twist.

Fred nodded, squeezing Amalia with the hand still planted firmly on her waist. "Sure, Rosie." With his other hand he ruffled his hair again and cleared his throat. "And I-er-sorry you had to see that-"

"It's fine," Rose mumbled to the floor. She let go of the piece of hair and tucked it behind her ear as she bit down on the inside of her cheek. "You really should get back to your common room, though. If we run into you again we have to take twice as many points."

"We don't want that," Fred said with a half-hearted laugh. "I don't want you telling my mum at Christmas about how I cost Gryffindor the house cup."

Rose made a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh and shrugged. "Just don't let me find you snogging behind a tapestry again."

"Right. Next time we'll make sure to be in a nice, secure broom cupboard."

"Fred," Rose groaned.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I'm just joking," he said hastily, putting a hand up in surrender. "I will check the prefect schedule and never snog on your patrol again. Is that good enough?"

Rose made a noncommittal noise.

"Wonderful," Fred replied, turning back to Amalia. "So then I suppose we'll be off. Ready, Lia?"

"Mhm," Amalia murmured, turning once more toward Rose. "Lovely to meet you, Rosie."

"It's Rose, please."

Amalia raised an eyebrow. "Of course," she said with an infinitesimal smile. "Nice to meet you, _Rose_."

"You too."

The two gryffindors loped off down the corridor, Fred's hand still on Amalia's waist. Rose rolled her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when they turned the corner. "That was bloody awful," she said to herself.

"It was rather uncomfortable."

Rose had forgotten Scorpius was there and turned toward him, her face heating up again. "Er-sorry-"

"Don't worry," he shrugged, beginning to walk down the corridor again.

Rose hurried to keep up with him, twisting the piece of hair around her finger. Her shoulders relaxed slightly as they rounded the corner. "Thank you," she said suddenly, turning to face Scorpius. "For taking the points, I mean. I don't know if-you know-I would've. Not that I don't enforce rules. Or, you know, don't care about the duties, but-er-Fred-"

"He's your cousin," Scorpius said with a small nod.

"Right." Rose peered at him for a moment. His eyes were trained ahead, mouth set in a line that wasn't unfriendly, but not relaxed. The silver badge was poised precisely on his chest and his arms hung at his sides so that his fingertips barely grazed the fabric of his trousers.

"I wouldn't expect you to take points from him."

Rose clamped her jaw tightly and bit down on the inside of her cheek until it stung, trying to squash the unkind remarks that jumped to her lips.

"I think I would have the same trouble with Nathan," Scorpius added after a moment. "It's rather difficult to take points from people you're so close to."

"Oh," Rose stammered, releasing her cheek and glancing at him. She dropped her hands to her sides and bit her lip. "Yeah, it is."

They continued walking in silence. Rose massaged the inside of her cheek with her tongue as best she could, taking comfort in the fact she hadn't drawn blood. She really oughtn't have bitten down as hard as she did.

Scorpius walked quietly beside her. Somehow even his footsteps were soft; barely a sound came from his footfalls while echoes of Rose's chased them down the corridor. Rose peeked at him again out of the corner of her eye and tugged on the ends of her hair.

"Er," she stuttered. "I never said thank you for what you said-last week."

He turned marginally toward her, eyebrows drawn together.

"In the common room," Rose elaborated, quickly cursing herself for bringing the subject up at all. She could feel her flush returning; her face undoubtedly was scarlet at the moment as she rambled on, determined to finish the thought now that she had started it. "Last week. At night. I was-was crying and-you know-well-not-not having a good time of it-and you said nobody believed any of the rumors-and that you know-"

He nodded without looking at her, his eyes turning toward the floor as he kept walking. His hands meandered into his pockets. "It's true."

"Well," Rose faltered, chewing on her lip and wishing she could evaporate on the spot. "Well, it was nice. And I needed to hear it. So thank you."

Scorpius nodded again and said nothing. They walked silently to the end of the corridor and turned the corner. Rose began counting her paces, wondering how many steps she could take between now and the end of patrol. One. Two. Three. Four.

"Are you really not going to quidditch trials?"

Rose turned to look at him, eyebrows shooting up and paces forgotten. "What?"

Scorpius leaned away slightly, as though afraid she was going to hex him. "I didn't mean to pry," he said. "I just heard you talking a few days ago. Are you really not going to trials?"

"I-er-I don't know." Rose picked at her thumbnail and dropped her gaze. "I don't know yet."

He turned away, his hands coming out of his pockets to rest at his sides. "Oh." His fingers began tapping.

The rest of the patrol passed without event. Rose counted six hundred and seventy eight steps in that time (though she thought she missed a few in the four hundreds when she had gotten distracted imagining Mr. Darcy arriving at Hogwarts and sweeping her off her feet). When Scorpius checked his watch and announced they were done, Rose let out a breath and hitched her bag up.

"I'll go to the Heads' office and fill out the report," she said. "Seeing as you've done it the last two times."

"Okay." Scorpius glanced at her. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," Rose shook her head quickly. "Er, I mean, that's alright. It's not that difficult."

"Okay," he nodded slowly and turned. "Have a good night then."

Rose's forehead creased as she looked up. Scorpius was already walking away, his back to her. She bit her lip and then murmured, unsure if it was loud enough for him to hear, "Goodnight."

* * *

The week wore on and Rose began to hold her head higher as she walked down the corridors. It seemed that most of the gossip had truly dissipated, with the only unpleasantries now coming in the form of Herrick himself. He still smirked whenever he passed Rose in the common room or the Great Hall, and she could always feel her face flame up in his presence. But even those encounters seemed to dwindle as the days passed.

Friday night found Rose in the common room with Allie working to finish a runes translation before the weekend. They sat at a small table in the corner, shoved against one of the windows overlooking the quidditch pitch. Allie had a massive dictionary of hieroglyphics open on top of her parchment and was perusing the entries with a highly polished pink fingernail whilst Rose searched through one of her library books for a way to correctly interpret and translate what appeared to be a rune set in both the future and the past. Other Ravenclaws sat around them, some working as they were and others playing either gobstones or chess or reading or chatting about the upcoming weekend.

Rose looked up from her book for the umpteenth time and glanced out the window, drumming her fingers against the table as she watched three indistinct figures flying laps around the pitch.

"Alright," Allie murmured, looking up from the dictionary, "I think the second rune of number four means an abandoned cauldron, but you might want to double check that."

"Hm?" Rose turned toward her friend. "Sorry, I got distracted."

Allie seemed unfazed by this and evenly replied, "The second rune of number four, the one we didn't know, I think it means an abandoned cauldron."

"Oh." Rose furrowed her brow and shoved her book to the side to look at the translation. "Yes, I suppose that would make sense. It looks like it's talking about an old poison."

"Good." Allie scribbled something on her parchment and went back to the dictionary. "Which rune should I look up next?"

"Er," Rose scanned the page. "The second to last one, right after the one meaning student. I think we know the rest of these enough to come up with a translation."

"Just give me one moment," Allie said, flipping through the dictionary pages.

Rose smiled and turned back to the window. The figures floated in front of the goal hoops. One of them appeared to have a quaffle, juggling it in their hands. Rose sighed and turned back to the translation. "Let's see," she muttered, scanning the runes and waggling the quill between her fingers. "Yes, okay, I think I have the first part of it. Once we look up that other rune we'll have the rest."

"Excellent," Allie chirped, flipping another page.

Rose glanced out the window again. The three players had dispersed, with one meandering up to the hoops and the other two flying to different sides of the pitch. With some unknown cue, the scrimmage began as the two suddenly bolted toward the hoops. The one holding the quaffle dove low, zigzagging down the pitch. Their opponent stayed high, circling like a hawk. The keeper, Rose noted, kept drifting in front of the right hoop and staring down at the flyer with the quaffle.

"I think I found it," Allie muttered.

"Good," Rose said absently, watching as the player with the quaffle shot up only to be overtaken by their opponent. She gasped as the other took the quaffle and with barely a second glance threw it toward the left hoop. The keeper scrambled and shot to the side, arms outstretched, but was too late. The quaffle soared through the goal hoop.

"Rose?" Allie said, leaning across the table and prodding her gently in the shoulder. "Do you have the translation, then?"

"Er, what?" Rose shook her head and gave her friend a sheepish smile. "Oh, er, no, sorry, I didn't hear you. What did that rune mean?"

"It means either an unsuccessful antidote or a hidden poison depending on the context," Allie answered, her gaze sliding toward the window. "How are those people on the pitch doing?"

"The keeper needs to stop staring at the chasers," Rose said. "They didn't even notice that they'd drifted all the way over to the right." She glanced up to find Allie smiling. "What?" she frowned, pulling her translation forward.

"Nothing," Allie said with a shrug and aggravating grin. "You just seemed very invested in it."

Rose grunted. "I just wanted to watch them play." She took out her quill and skimmed the half-completed translation before leaning down and scribbling. "Now, I think we've got this one. It seems like it's a student who poisoned their teacher by purposely brewing an incorrect antidote."

"That's morbid," Allie said, taking out her own quill and raising an eyebrow. "Why can't we have nice translations? It seems like they're always about death and pain."

Rose shrugged. "Maybe that's what people really wanted to write about."

"Well," Allie sniffed, "I'm sure they could've written about nice things as well. Not everything has to be dark and gloomy."

"Why don't you go and write nice things in ancient runes then?"

"I think I might." Allie tossed her hair over her shoulder and examined her nails. "It'd make the class much more interesting too."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Things can still be interesting even if they're not _nice_."

"I don't see why they can't be both," Allie said crisply. She perked up at something behind Rose, straightening in her chair and cocking her head to the side. "Hello, Henry."

Rose turned to see Henry Winkle approaching, a large stack of books in his hands. The top one, Rose saw, was _806 Legal Loopholes Every Beater Should Know._

"Hey, Boot," Henry said with a jerky wave, leaning to the side so as not to drop the books. "Hey, Rose," he nodded.

"Hi," Rose said coolly, setting her quill down and raising her eyebrows.

Henry shifted his weight between his legs, looking decidedly unsure of himself. Rose, in no mood to help him, sat silently and twirled a piece of hair. "I wanted to apologize," Henry said at last, looking up from his books and directly at Rose. "For the way I accosted you at dinner last week and for assuming all those rumors were true and for not listening to you. I was a right prat."

"You were," Rose nodded. She dropped the lock of hair and tucked it behind her ear as she chewed the inside of her cheek.

"And, well, yeah," Henry nodded, "I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay," Rose said. "I reckon you were pretty decent about it compared to everyone else."

"But still," Henry grimaced, "I know those stories weren't true."

"Well, thank you for that," Rose said slowly. She met Henry's eyes and gave him a small smile. "Really, that does mean a lot."

"I'm glad we got that straightened out," Henry responded. He shifted the pile of books to one arm and stuck the other out toward her. "So we're alright?"

"I suppose," Rose shrugged and shook his offered hand.

"Glad to hear it," Henry said. When Rose let go of his hand he shifted the books again, putting both palms under the stack. "And," he continued, narrowing his eyes, "I heard some nonsense that you aren't going to trials this year."

"Oh," Rose muttered, looking down at her feet. "Yeah, well-"  
"Do whatever you want, Weasley," Henry said with the contrived air of authority he generally reserved for pep talks, "but just know that I will levitate you out of your dormitory window tomorrow morning if you're not on that pitch."

Rose snorted and rolled her eyes. "Noted."

"Glad that's clear," Henry nodded. "The team's just hitting their stride, if you ask me, and having to adjust to a different keeper would ruin everything."

"I'm sure Remington would happily take my place," Rose said with feigned solemnity, fighting to keep her mouth in a straight line as Henry grimaced.

"I'm sure he would," he muttered. "And I'm sure he would be just as happy to moon over DeMarco on the pitch and let in every shot."

Rose let out a giggle. "Give him some more credit, Henry. The bloke's a decent flyer."

"Yeah, well," Henry sighed, "I'd still rather have you in front of the goals. And you work so well with everyone, you understand the strategy of the game." He paused and tightened his jaw. "And I'm not losing a bloody great keeper because Gabriel Herrick's a lying wanker. Replacing Scamander is going to be difficult enough."

"Er, right," Rose faltered, unsure of how to respond. "Well, I-I'll think about it more."

Henry peered at her for a moment before sighing and straightening, readjusting the pile of books one last time. "Alright, fine. But remember," he raised his eyebrows, "I'm not afraid to levitate you out of the damn window."

"Right," Rose laughed. "I suppose we'll see."

Henry nodded and turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, Weasley," he called over his shoulder.

* * *

Shrill curtains of wind ushered in Saturday morning, knocking on the windows of the Ravenclaw dormitories and whistling against the castle spires. A particularly savage gust rattled the window panes beside Rose's bed and she rolled onto her stomach, burrowing her face deeper in her pillow.

The wind tore through the window and nudged Rose in the shoulder. "Eurgh," she mumbled, rolling over again so her back was to the window. She tugged the blankets up to her chin. The air tapped her again. Rose groaned and tucked her knees tighter against her chest.

"Weasley!" the wind hissed as it smacked her in the shoulder, harder this time. Rose started and shot up, coming face to face with Maren.

"Wha-"

"Get up," Maren ordered, tearing the blankets away.

"Oy!" Rose cried, curling up into a tighter ball. "It's cold!"

"Get up," Maren repeated, rolling her eyes as she turned to Rose's trunk. "I'll find your things."

"What're we doing?" Rose asked, yawning and brushing hair off her face as she peered around the dormitory. Inky sky peered through the windows. Rose frowned. "The sun's not up yet."

"Nope," Maren murmured, half-hidden in Rose's trunk.

"So why are we up?"

"We have to get down to the pitch," Maren replied, straightening as she pulled out Rose's quidditch robes and keeping gloves. "You need to practice before trials."

"Oh," Rose said dumbly, staring at her bedsheets as her eyelids drooped.

"You're going," Maren said, standing up and throwing the robes and a thick jumper onto Rose's lap. "I don't care if I have to stun you and drag you down to the pitch myself."

Rose inhaled heavily and shook her head, trying to make her eyelids feel a little less heavy. Her fingers fell on the jumper and she smiled. "Henry said he'd just levitate me out the window."

"Good," Maren nodded curtly. "Now put that jumper on."

Rose briefly considered saying no, getting back in bed and not getting out until trials were well over. But no. Everyone had gone through so much trouble, and Maren was holding her keeping gloves, and she had desperately missed flying the past week. So she got to her feet and slowly pulled the jumper over her head. With forced casualty, she mumbled, "What do I do if I see Herrick there?"

"Knock him off his broom," Maren answered without hesitation. "Or transfigure him into a slug."

Rose paused as she tugged on her quidditch robes. "We haven't learned human transfiguration yet."

"Then transfigure his broom into a snake," Maren shrugged.

"Would you two shut up?" Allie murmured from the other side of the room where she lay under a pile of blankets. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Sorry," Rose whispered. She turned back to Maren and began gathering her hair into a ponytail, biting her lip. "You don't think people will laugh at me?"

"Nah," Maren shook her head. "If they do then the entire team'll punch them."

Rose snorted and began lacing up her boots, her fingers struggling with the laces in the dim light. "I don't think Malfoy will punch anyone for me."

"Maybe not," Maren shrugged. "He'd probably keep us all out of detention, though, which is something."

"Good to know he's looking out for me," Rose said dryly. She straightened and brushed off her robes. "I think I'm ready. Let's go before I change my mind."

"Brilliant," Maren beamed, taking her by the arm and trotting toward the door. "And you're not changing your mind. I've already written out the drills we're going to do."

* * *

Dew gleamed on the quidditch pitch as the two girls approached, draped in the eerie glow of the burgeoning sun. Rose ran her hand down the handle of her beloved broom, smiling as her fingers found each crevice and chink.

"Alright," Maren said, peering down at the scrap of parchment in her hand. "We're starting with three laps around the pitch, first one's warm up, second is build up, and third is all out, as fast you can go."

"Got it, Captain," Rose laughed, straddling her broom and looking over her shoulder. "We flying together?"

"Of course," Maren said, stuffing the parchment in her pocket. "We have to be sure you haven't lost your speed."

"It's only been three weeks," Rose grumbled. "I'm not coming out of retirement."

"Just try to keep up, Weasley," Maren shouted as she kicked off the ground.

"Don't worry," Rose called as she followed suit, rising swiftly into the chilly morning air. "I could outfly you in my sleep."

Three hours later Rose touched down on the pitch, her heart racing and a sheet of cold sweat covering her body. A small crowd had converged at the side of the pitch, hopefuls waiting for trials to begin. Henry Winkle stood at the head, clipboard in hand and wand out, watching as she and Maren descended.

"I was rather looking forward to levitating you," he said when he caught sight of Rose, looking slightly put-out.

"Sorry to disappoint," Rose replied, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder as she joined the group.

"Glad to see you, though," he said, turning back to the clipboard. "Thomas didn't work you too hard, did she? I hope it doesn't affect your flying now."

"We just did some warm up flying and drills," Maren said from beside Rose. "I adapted our pre-match practice."

"Oh," Henry paused. "Right then, brilliant. And it looks like we've a nice turnout today." He looked up and surveyed the group. Rose did the same, the thumping in her chest growing slightly louder. She ran her fingers down the length of her ponytail and tugged at the end, chewing the inside of her cheek as her eyes flickered across the crowd. Her stomach growled and seemed to cave in on itself and she wished that she had thought to eat something.

Katrina DeMarco and Milo Remington stood to the side of Henry; Katrina had an arm wrapped around Milo's waist and was whispering in his ear. Between Katrina and Maren stood Scorpius, who waved to Maren and began talking animatedly about something. The other players stood huddled in small groups of twos and threes. Rose picked out the second years, anxiously clutching their brooms and watching wide-eyed as Henry scribbled away on his clipboard. A few older students stood along the perimeter, arms folded and eyebrows raised. Rose scanned each face before turning to Maren and elbowing her in the side.

"He's not here," Rose whispered, standing on her toes to try and see the path to the castle.

"Who's not here?" Maren furrowed her eyebrows.

"Herrick."

"He's not coming." Henry turned around and caught Rose's eye.

"He's not?"

Henry lowered his clipboard and readjusted the badge on his chest, pushing his shoulders back slightly as he did so. "I told him I don't tolerate behavior like that from my players. A team can't be successful if there's no trust, no matter how good of a seeker they've got."

Rose opened and closed her mouth, feeling slightly off-center. Before she could reply, or do anything more than look at Maren, Henry pointed his wand at his throat and called, "Everybody quiet, please!"

The chatter petered out as the two dozen players turned toward the captain.

"Right," Henry said, looking down at the clipboard. "Before we go any further I just want to remind everybody that if you're here you are trying out for the Ravenclaw house quidditch team. If you are just looking to fly around, or have a scrimmage, or if you're from a different house, go ahead and clear out now and save us all some time."

A pause. Nobody moved.

"Excellent," Henry said, making a note on the clipboard. "So these trials are meant to test flying ability, technical knowledge, and teamwork. We have some positions that need filling but I want to remind everybody," he looked around the assembly, "that for all intents and purposes, every position is open right now. Returning players, just because you've made the team before doesn't mean you're guaranteed a spot. New players, remember that we're looking for good flyers and teammates more than players who are good at a specific position. Even if you don't make the team in your desired role, you can always be added to the reserves if you perform well today. After some initial laps and drills, everybody will split up based on their position and we will go from there. Got it?"

There was a general murmur of assent. Henry nodded.

"Good. Now, one last thing before we begin. A lot of thought goes into these trials and all decisions are final. I will announce positions immediately after tryouts end and any positions that require more thought will be announced Monday morning along with the reserves. If you don't like the decisions or think they're unfair then you're more than welcome to go to Wood with complaints but I doubt he will tell you anything other than to practice more. If we get word that anybody reacts in a way that is deemed unsportsmanlike, their chances of making the team in the future or being brought on as a reserve player are severely lowered. Is that clear?"

A more subdued rumble swept through the crowd. Henry nodded to himself.

"Alright. Let's get flying then, yeah? Everybody on your brooms, please. We'll start with two laps around the pitch. If at any point you can't keep up or have to stop, please make your way back to the castle. On my go. Ready, up!"

Two dozen pairs of feet kicked off. Trials had begun.

Rose flew next to Maren, nudging her broom along gently. They stayed at the front of the pack, flanking Scorpius and a pair of fourth year boys. Henry had drifted to the middle of the pitch where he hovered, still holding the clipboard and making occasional notes.

One of the fourth year boys leaned down and rocketed ahead of his friend, who whooped and laughed. Rose rolled her eyes and shifted to her right, grazing the whooping boy just enough to startle him. He wobbled and turned, eyes wide.

"Sorry," Rose called innocently over her shoulder.

The boy hung in the air for a moment until a second flyer nearly knocked him off his broom. He put both hands around the broomhandle and bent his head, now decidedly in the middle of the pack. His friend had begun to falter up ahead, his face magenta as he pushed himself further down his broomstick. Scorpius, sitting tall on his own broom, passed him easily, pale chin raised just a tick higher than usual.

They finished the two laps. Rose, Maren and Scorpius led the group along with the fourth year boy. Katrina DeMarco followed closely with a burly dark haired girl who seemed rather too old to be in school and a scrawny boy who Rose guessed to be a second year. The flyers congregated around Henry in the middle of the pitch, lingering some twenty feet in the air.

"Who d'ya reckon has a good chance?" Rose asked Maren as they waited for everyone to finish.

"The small kid by Katrina seems fast," Maren murmured, looking over her shoulder. "Though any stronger wind would probably knock him over. Those boys who were flying with us were good too."

"They were showoffs," Rose scowled. "Henry doesn't like showoffs."

"He likes good flyers, though."

"Weasley has a point, though," Scorpius broke in, halting his broom so that he hovered on Maren's other side. "It seems like they prioritize showmanship over skill. It worked for two laps around the pitch but in a match? They'd be crushed."

"We'll see how they do in the other drills," Maren shrugged. "And what positions they're going for. I don't think either of them could play chaser, at least."

Rose shook her head. "No way. They'd have to be seekers. I don't think they could play with anyone else. Unless they're trying to be beaters together?"

"Then they're bloody thick," Maren laughed. "Henry's the captain. Nobody can get his spot."

They were interrupted by Henry's shout, announcing the drills they were going to run next. "They're just basic maneuvers," he called, his magically magnified voice echoing through the stands. "I expect any member of my team to be able to execute these flawlessly."

Rose snorted and glanced at Maren. "Good thing you had us run these earlier."

"I told you I knew what I was doing." Maren tossed her head and adjusted her grip on her broomhandle.

The rest of the morning passed quickly. The group went through the drills as Henry scribbled on his clipboard, occasionally calling for a time out and asking someone to reposition themselves or try something different. Rose and Maren both performed well, outflying nearly everyone except Katrina, who led the group through the maneuvers with a gracefulness that Rose could only dream of. A handful of flyers fell short of the group and returned, wilting, to the ground and Rose tried valiantly not to look too pleased when one of the fourth year boys who had shown off earlier ran into a goal hoop and had to be escorted down to the stands.

When they had finished the drills they split into groups according to the position they were trying out for. The trials for keeper were first, with Rose and a bulky third year the only two candidates. The hopeful chasers queued up and tried to score. The third year was good, Rose couldn't deny, but he constantly drifted to the left and his reaction times, she couldn't help but note, were rather slow. He managed to save nine out of twelve goals, however, ending with a polyrot roll that Rose grudgingly admitted was quite impressive. She saved every goal until the last, which she hotly contested as the second year had flown directly into her, nearly knocking her over as he reached up and tossed the quaffle through.

"That's a foul!" Rose screeched, breathing hard as she regained control of her broom. "You can't come within three meters of the keeper if they're in position!"

"Pederson, she's right," Henry boomed. "Get back in the queue. And Rose, relax. Nothing happened, you're fine."

After the goal-keeping, Henry put the chasers through a series of scrimmages, with Rose guarding one side of the goals and the third year guarding the other. After every goal, Henry changed the teams, seeing how different chasers worked together. There were several skilled flyers, and a few older students who handled the quaffle well. But Katrina, Maren, and Scorpius had built up a system of unspoken communication and trust which none of the newcomers could break. Rose smiled to herself as Maren swooped below Scorpius just as he dropped the quaffle, catching it easily and sending it through the goal before the other keeper realized what had happened.

Henry let the keepers and chasers return to the ground and relax while he ran the trials for beaters and the seeker. Rose watched for a moment, but then began chatting with Maren and Katrina about the Holyhead Harpies' newly released robes. ("The dragonhide paneling on the side is gorgeous! And Aunt Ginny said their hoods are wind and water resistant, so the players have better visibility during storms.") When she glanced up, she saw the small boy who had kept up with Katrina in the initial flight around the pitch watching Henry and nodding. They must be onto the seeker trials.

Before long everybody returned to the ground and Rose sat up. Henry landed beside her, reading over his clipboard and scratching things out. He cleared his throat, shaking the ground.

"Right," he said, shoving his quill in his pocket and looking around. "Thank you everyone for coming out today, it's really great to see so much enthusiasm for Ravenclaw's quidditch team. I'm pleased to say I've made a decision for every position, so nobody will have to go through the suspense of waiting until Monday."

A general sigh of relief swept through the group. Rose caught Maren's eye and smiled.

"Our chasers will be Katrina DeMarco, Maren Thomas, and Scorpius Malfoy," Henry said, glancing at the clipboard. "Our beaters will be myself and Linus Fleming."

Rose saw the scrawny second year's head shoot up, an enormous grin covering his face. She raised an eyebrow and nudged Maren, who shrugged.

"Our keeper will be Rose Weasley." Henry nodded at her.

Rose grinned and her shoulders relaxed, a small bubble of unspoken relief exploding in her chest.

"And our seeker will be Hera Plumaj."

The tall, broad shouldered girl whom Rose had noticed earlier started. Her straight dark hair, tied in a high ponytail, swished around her face and her dark eyes crinkled to nothing as she smiled. "Thanks, Winkle," she called out.

Henry gave a jerky nod and hastily turned back to his clipboard.

Something hit Rose in the shoulder and she turned to see Maren looking at her with a mixture of awe and fear. "I reckon she could play any position she wants," Maren whispered. "Look at her, she looks like the professional players in _Quidditch Quarterly_."

"I know," Rose replied, eyes widening as she tried to glance discreetly at the girl again. "She looks like she could step on half of these kids."

"And she's so pretty!"

"How does she get her hair to stay like that?" Rose asked, running a hand through her own ponytail, which was by now half slick with sweat and half frizzy, a few escaped curls sticking to her neck and forehead.

Maren shrugged. "Maybe she knows a charm. Or maybe it just does that on its own."

"Bullocks," Rose grumbled. "Nobody's hair looks that nice on its own."

"Thank you again for coming out," Henry said, tapping the clipboard with his wand. "I'll post the list of reserves in the common room Monday morning. If you made the team please stay here a moment so we can have our first meeting, and if you haven't you're free to go."

The rustling of robes and trundle of boots greeted these words as a dozen downtrodden students meandered back to the castle, clucking and grumbling amongst themselves.

The new Ravenclaw house quidditch team came together. Henry pointed his wand at his throat and mumbled something, his voice suddenly returning to normal volume. "Merlin, I hate doing that," he muttered as he stowed his wand back in his pocket. "But, anyway," he grinned and looked around at all of them, clapping the small new beater on the shoulder. "Welcome, everyone. I think we're going to have a brilliant team this year. Most of you know each other, but Linus and Hera, we're excited to have you."

"Hear, hear," Katrina chirped, echoed by Rose, Maren, and Scorpius.

"That's really all I had to say right now," Henry said, running a hand through his hair. "And that we're still working on the practice schedule so if you have any regular conflicts let me know as soon as you can. Our first match is against Slytherin in October so I'd like to get as many practices in as possible before then."

"Of course," Maren nodded. "We'll crush Slytherin this year, Winkle."

"We'll see," Henry grimaced. "So yeah, that's really all. Tell me any conflicts before Monday morning and I'll send out the practice schedule next week. Fleming, Plumaj, if you want to go to the changing rooms we can get you some robes. You lot," he gestured to Rose, Maren, Scorpius, and Katrina, "can head back to the castle if you want. Nice flying today."

"Thanks, Winkle," Katrina said before turning to the fifth years. "You three ready?"

They stored their brooms in the broomshed and fell into step back to the castle, Katrina and Rose in front with Maren and Scorpius trailing. "I thought those went very well," Katrina murmured. "Henry's gotten a lot better at corralling large crowds. And there weren't too many obnoxious wankers today."

"Thank Merlin those two idiots didn't make it," Maren said. "Can you imagine having one of them on the team?"

"They never had much of a chance," Scorpius said. He paused and added, "Was Milo terribly upset he didn't make it?"

"Nah." Katrina shook her head. "I think he's used to it by now."

"He tried out for beater, didn't he?" Maren inquired.

"Yeah," Katrina sighed. "Hit himself in the leg with the bat, bless him."

"At least he's persistent," Rose giggled.

"Once he saw Fleming fly he knew it was a lost cause," Katrina shrugged. "You know, he's quite small for a fourth year but I reckon he might be one of the best flyers I've ever seen."

"He's a fourth year?" Rose demanded, slowing down as she turned to stare at Katrina. "I thought he was a second year! He's so tiny!"

"Yes, he's a fourth year," Katrina snorted. "Though you're not one to talk about height, Weasley," she patted Rose on the shoulder, "I reckon you were the smallest one there."

"That is completely different," Rose huffed and crossed her arms. "My height doesn't hurt my position. Keepers need to be agile, quick, whereas beaters-"

"Need to be both those things as well," Katrina said.

"They need muscle!"

"Most of the muscle that beaters need is in the core," Maren interjected. "It's much more about balance than power."

Rose scowled. "Fine, fine, it just seems like he should've been playing a different position."

"Well he was the best flyer that came out for beater by far," Katrina said. "Scorpius, didn't you say that he managed a double twist?"

"He did," Scorpius nodded. "And he hit the bludger at the end of it, too."

"Blimey," Maren whistled. "Between him and Plumaj we'll be unstoppable. Y'know, she looks like she could kill me with one hand."

"She's bloody terrifying," Rose agreed.

"She's not terrifying in the slightest," Katrina laughed, shaking her head. "She's probably one of the nicest girls in the house. She's a year older than me and people just fawn over her. I don't think I've ever seen her kill a bug."

"Oh, well," Maren said slowly, "maybe we won't let the other teams know that, yeah? A little intimidation can go a long way."

"Sure, Thomas," Katrina said. "That'll be our great strategy to win the cup this year."

"It could work!" Maren cried.

They reached the castle doors and trooped inside, leaving muddy tracks along the floor as the castle buzzed with unseen movement.

"Blimey, I'm knackered," Rose yawned, stretching her arms wide. "I think I have to take a nap before dinner."

"It's barely one o'clock," Katrina chided.

"Somebody woke me up in the middle of the bloody night to practice," Rose said, shooting a mock glare at Maren over her shoulder.

"It worked, didn't it?" Maren shrugged unapologetically.

Rose mumbled indistinctly. They climbed up the stairs, debating the proper time to take a nap until they reached the seventh floor. The eagle knocker sat waiting for them.

"You can enter me but never touch me, can find me in an instant but can never see me, cannot stay with me but can never stay away. What am I?"

Rose crinkled her eyebrows and folded her arms. "What in the-"

"The unconscious," Katrina said crisply. The eagle knocker nodded and the door swung open.

"Well," Katrina said as they entered the room, which held a smattering of students. "Nice flying today, everyone. I think I see Milo over there. I'll see you lot later."

"Bye, Katrina," Rose called as the older girl walked away.

"I think I'm going down to the Slytherin common room to see Nathan and Al," Scorpius said when Katrina was out of sight. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at Maren. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Alright," Maren nodded. "Nice job today, Malfoy."

"You too," Scorpius said, giving a small smile and clapping Maren on the shoulder. "It'll be good to play together for another year." He turned to go and his eyes flickered to Rose; his smile faltered momentarily. "And, er, good job to you as well, Weasley."

Rose swallowed and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. "You too, Malfoy."

He nodded and fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. "Right. I'll see you at dinner, Thomas."

"Bye, Scorpius," Maren called as he strolled back through the doorway. "Well," she said, turning to Rose and raising an eyebrow, "shall we go up and tell Allie the good news? Maybe she can do something with your hair as well."

Rose rolled her eyes and started toward the spiral staircase leading to their dormitory. "As long as I can sleep first."

"Fine," Maren sighed. "But then you have to do that doxy skin face mask with me later tonight. You've been saying you would for two weeks."

"Deal."

* * *

Dinner that night was a triumphant affair. Rose had barely sat down when a bundle of hair and yarn accosted her.

"I made it!" Hugo shouted into her shoulder, the thick sleeve of his Weasley jumper momentarily suffocating her. "I'm the new beater!"

"That's wonderful," Rose choked out when she finally got free of the asphyxiating jumper. She ruffled her brother's hair and grinned. "Dad'll go mad when he finds out, he'll be so happy!"

"I was up against a sixth year," Hugo said, puffing his chest out and pointing his chin higher. "She was quite good but kept trying to pull all these stunts and the captain said I was more reliable."

"That's always a good thing to be," Rose responded.

"Way to go, Hugo!" Maren cheered from beside Rose, waving her spoon in the air. "You'll be a marvelous beater even though Ravenclaw is going to crush Hufflepuff this year."

"Not anymore," Hugo sniffed. "We're taking back the cup. The badgers are back!"

"Sure," Rose snorted. "Whatever you say."

"D'you think Dad'll come for my matches?" Hugo asked, leaning over and plucking a carrot from Rose's plate. "An' mum?"

"Probably," Rose shrugged. "You know Dad loves his quidditch matches."

"Brilliant," Hugo beamed. He took another carrot and straightened. "I've got to go tell Lily now!" He scampered away, bouncing through the Great Hall as though he had eaten an entire container of fizzing whizbees.

"Good for him," Rose murmured to nobody in particular, eyes following her brother as he skidded to a halt at the Gryffindor table in front of Lily.

"He'll make a good beater," Maren agreed, heaping a pile of mashed potatoes onto her plate. "I think your dad might combust when he gets the news, though."

"It'll be the greatest thing to happen to him all year," Rose laughed. "And now he'll have an excuse to come to even more matches."

"And get some Hufflepuff apparel."

"And take us to more professional matches over holidays for 'training.'"

Maren snorted. "Remember to include your teammates in that training, Weasley."

Rose took a roll and began to butter it. "Of course." She took a bite of muffin and looked over her shoulder again in search of Hugo. She perked up as she saw another figure walk over from the Gryffindor table. "F'ed!"

"Hey, Rosie," Fred said, waving and raising an eyebrow. "I heard trials went well."

"Mhm." Rose nodded enthusiastically as she swallowed her bite. "I'm still keeper."

"And I heard Hugh made the Hufflepuff team."

"Yeah," Rose sat a little straighter and tossed her hair. "He's the new beater. He said he beat out a sixth year!"

"Good for him," Fred chuckled. "He's a good player. Dependable, not too flashy, good teammate."

"I know," Rose said proudly. "He'll be wonderful."

"And, Maren, I heard you're still on the team as well," Fred said, nudging Maren in the shoulder.

She grinned. "Thanks. And I take it you're still on the Gryffindor team?"

"James hasn't kicked me off yet," Fred shrugged. He tapped Maren and squeezed onto the bench between her and Rose. "Though he's going _mad_ this year. He made us stay out there for _five hours_ yesterday. Five!"

"Doing what?" Rose asked, taking another bite of her roll.

"Drills and timed flies around the pitch and learning the basics of every position. He made me play keeper for four plays!"

Rose let out a laugh, spraying a few crumbs across the table. She covered her mouth with her hand and silently shook with subdued giggles. "You played keeper?" she asked when she regained control of herself. "You're a rubbish keeper."

"I know," Fred shook his head. "And when I let it eight goals in a row he threatened to keep me later-"

"He didn't."

"He did! And it wasn't until Kennedy told him off for keeping everyone there so long that he let it drop."

"Wow," Rose let out a breath. "You should write to Aunt Ginny and tell her that."

"I think Roxy did," Fred said. "Although we thought about it and, really, I wouldn't be surprised if that was her idea."

"Oh," Rose nodded. "You're right."

"The Potters are bloody crazy when it comes to quidditch." Fred took a drink of pumpkin juice. "Absolutely barmy."

"The rest of your family isn't much better," Maren pointed out.

"True," Fred conceded. "But the Potters are especially mad."

"You lot have a family member on every house team in the school now, though," Maren said, rolling her eyes. "That's _mad_. It's unbelievable. Nobody can go to a quidditch match without seeing one of you."

"Ugh, there's going to be parents at every match now," Rose groaned.

"I thought you liked seeing them?" Maren asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I do," Rose sighed. "But this is _school._ I don't want to see my parents or aunts or uncles every single match. And every time my dad sees me play he wants to give me pointers-"

"Both my parents do that," Fred nodded. "Drives me mad, but Roxy hates it more. Y'know, one time she actually tried to ban Mum from coming to the matches. Said it ruined her concentration."

"Oh no," Rose gasped, picturing a battle between Aunt Angelina and Roxanne; just the thought made her want to run and duck for cover. "How did that go?"

"As well as you think."

"What did you and your dad do?" Rose cocked an eyebrow.

Fred laughed. "We hid out at the shop for a few days, until everything blew over."

"Good plan." Rose pulled a plate of turkey forward and turned to Fred. "Are you eating here? Do you want a plate?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "Just came to say good job. I'm heading over the Hufflepuff next to say the same to Hugh." He half-stood in his seat, before stopping. "But also," his eyes flickered from Rose to Maren, "James said the other day, Rosie, that he never sees you and Zeno said he hasn't seen either of you all term."

"Oh," Rose murmured. "I haven't seen Zeno, actually."

"Me either," Maren said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, well, we were thinking you should come to the common room at some point and we'll have a game of exploding snap and some butterbeer. We'll have Roxy and Ly come as well and everyone can see each other for a bit."

"That sounds wonderful," Rose said.

"Excellent." Fred clambered off the bench, brushing his robes off as he went. "And maybe we'll have Al come too, though James says he sees too much of him."

"James is a prat," Rose snorted. "Have Al come, I want to hear how the Slytherin team looks this year."

"Of course," Fred nodded. "And I'm off to Hufflepuff to make sure Hugo hasn't exploded yet."

"Make sure to remind him that Dad likes to send howlers when he gets good news!" Rose called after him.

Fred laughed as he walked away, toward the next table where Hugo bounced in his seat.

Maren turned to Rose with a grin. "Glad I made you come to trials now?"

Rose rolled her eyes and tried to suppress a smile as she picked up her glass of pumpkin juice. "I suppose."

* * *

Sorry for the extra long wait. Thank you for reading and remember that reviews are better than hot chocolate and fuzzy socks on Christmas morning!


	25. Chapter 24

Rain cascaded from leaden clouds hanging heavy in the waning twilight as an October wind tore through the air, cutting through Rose's quidditch robes and biting into her skin. She shivered and tried to shake the dampness from her sleeves. It was useless; they simply flapped in the air like dead birds, weighed down as they were with water. She hunched her shoulders even closer over her broom in an attempt to deflect further assault. Figures flew in the distance, obscured by the downpour, moving almost in slow-motion. Rose tried once again to shake out her sleeves; the tips of her fingers, frozen in her sodden keepers gloves, screamed in protest against the movement.

A whistle rang out across the pitch and the figures came to a halt, floating in the midst of the storm like oddly shaped debris.

"Not bad!" Henry Winkle's magnified voice bellowed, tickling Rose's goose-pimpled skin. "Let's run it one more time before turning in for the night."

"Winkle!" Rose shouted, drooping over her broom with a whimper. "Just let us go, we're all nearly frozen and I think I might fall off my broom if we run it again!"

"One more word and we're running it three more times, Weasley," Winkle's voice resounded as he emerged out of the rain and flew in front of Rose, the corners of his mouth twisting into a frown. "And for every complaint I hear during this one we're staying an extra five minutes!"

A round of groans echoed around the pitch. Henry let out an exasperated sigh. "Our first match is next week, people! Do you think Gryffindor is cutting practice short just because of some rain and wind?"

"No, but they're all mad," Rose pouted.

"You should know better than anyone that their madness pays off," Henry said in a clipped voice. He peered at his watch, bringing it almost to his nose in order to read the face, and then picked up his whistle again. "So we're running it again and I don't want to hear another bloody word! Ready? One, two," the whistle shrieked and the shadowy figures flew around the pitch once again.

Ten minutes later Rose's feet touched down on the ground, mud squelching below her trainers as her heel sunk slightly into the grass. The rest of the team landed softly beside her, all soaked and windblown to various degrees. Linus Fleming looked as though he'd been caught in a monsoon, with half his hair plastered to his forehead and the other half sticking straight up. Hera Plumaj, the most composed of everyone, was drenched from head to foot with her quidditch robes clinging to her torso but otherwise unscathed, her long dark braid showing no signs of abuse.

"If I wake up ill tomorrow I'm going to hex Winkle," Maren muttered beside Rose as they trudged toward the locker room.

"I'll help," Rose said, trying to push her dripping hair off her face. "I can barely move."

"That was awful-just rude, really."

"I dunno what he's playing at having us out here in this weather a week before the match. D'you think he's finally gone spare?"

"Y'know," Maren huffed as she opened the door to the changing room, "I'm starting to think it's some sort of curse on seventh year quidditch captains. They all go ballistic their last year."

Rose paused. "You know," she said slowly, "you might be right."

"You think James will go just as barmy as Dom and Winkle?"

Rose snorted. "James was already barmy about quidditch. I don't even want to think about what he'll be like this year."

She stepped into the shower and rejoiced as the water scalded her frozen skin, punching down the goose pimples and burning through the layer of grime.

"I feel like a new woman," she said as she walked into the changing room, towel wrapped firmly around her chest.

"Me too," Katrina DeMarco said, tugging on a pair of leggings. "A shower does wonders after a practice like that."

"D'you think every practice will be like that?" Rose asked quietly, pointing her wand toward her hair and casting a quick drying charm. "Bullocks," she muttered, feeling her hair puff around her face. "I always make it too strong."

"You need to move your wand down your hair as you say the incantation," Maren said from beside her. "That's what Allie always tells me."

"I'm just rubbish at all those beauty charms," Rose rolled her eyes. "They never work for me."

"You just try to rush them," Maren shrugged. She slipped on a Manchester United shirt and shook remaining water droplets out of her hair.

"Is that a muggle football shirt?" Katrina asked, nodding towards Maren.

"Yeah," Maren grinned, squaring her shoulders. "How'd you know?"

"Milo's dad is muggle born and follows football," Katrina said. "Though I don't think he supports Manchester United."

"Well he should," Maren tossed her hair. "They're the bloody best team in the country."

"I didn't know you were muggle born," Katrina said as she pulled her hair to the side and began to braid it.

"I'm not," Maren shook her head. "Well," she paused, "I dunno. My dad's a wizard, and we're pretty sure he's muggle born."

"And your mum's a muggle?"

"Mhm." Maren nodded.

Katrina raised her eyebrows. "Wow. So you know all about them then?"

Maren shrugged. "I suppose. We live in a muggle neighborhood in the summer and my brother Jay goes to a muggle school."

"Oh, I know people who've done that," Katrina said. "The muggle primary schools are quite cute, I think. Funny that they don't teach flying or anything but I suppose the parents can do that at home."

"Er," Maren's cheeks flushed. "No, he's not-"

The door burst open and Hera entered, wrapped in a towel and drying her hair as she strode toward her bag. Rose watched as Maren clamped her mouth shut and began pulling on her socks.

"That practice was ghastly," Hera said with a shake of her head. "I thought I was going to freeze to death out there." And then she promptly dropped her towel, letting it fall around her ankles. Rose let out a squeak of surprise and hastily turned away, seeing Katrina do the same. If Hera noticed, she didn't say anything, only continued to dress placidly.

"Er, we were just saying that," Katrina murmured. "We think Winkle's cracked."

"Nah," Hera replied. "I think that's coming later. Also, why don't the women on the team get their own changing room? I don't want Winkle walking in on me in here."

"Well the quidditch teams were originally all male," Rose said, forcing herself to turn around and breathing a sigh of relief to see that Hera was clothed. "And they weren't made co-ed until 1848 when Olive Ottelby released bludgers in the castle as a protest. I suppose nobody ever thought to build new changing rooms."

"We've never really had a problem, though," Maren added. "Really, if Henry were to walk in on someone changing, I think he'd be the more embarrassed one."

"Good to know," Hera nodded. She finished putting on her trainer and straightened. "Well, I'm knackered. Bed can't come soon enough."

"Hear, hear," Rose echoed, stifling a yawn as she gathered her belongings. "Good job tonight, girls."

They walked up the pathway toward the castle, dragging their bags and complaining about their aching muscles.

"I know I shouldn't be such a baby about it," Hera said, massaging her forearms. "I've a cousin who plays on the Albanian national team and when she tells me their practices it makes ours seem like a first year flying session, but my arms _hurt._ "

"You've a cousin on the Albanian national team?" Maren asked, jaw dropping open as she turned to gape. "And you kept that quiet?"

Hera shrugged. "They're not very good, haven't made it to the world cup finals since the sixteenth century. It's nothing compared to playing for the English national team."

"But it's still a national team!" Maren cried. "That's insane, it's-have you ever played with them?"

Hera laughed. "With the team? No. With my cousin? Yes."

"Which player is it?" Maren asked. "Would we know them?"

"I dunno," Hera shrugged. "I don't think any of them are really well known."

"Well what's the name?"

"Elira Cunmulaj."

"What position does she play?"

"Chaser." Hera swung open the heavy oak door and they stepped into the entrance hall. "Though I reckon she could play almost any of them."

"Wow." Maren shook her head. They began to climb the stairs up to the seventh floor. "D'you think she has any maneuvers you could teach me?"

"I'll ask," Hera said genially.

The eagle knocker greeted them with its usual steely gaze. "What lies at the end of the rainbow?"

"The horizon," Hera answered promptly, "which is to say both nothing and everything."

"Very well," the knocker sighed as the door swung open.

The sight of the Ravenclaw common room had never been so welcome. Rose felt she could drop down and fall asleep right there on the midnight blue carpet.

"Come on," Maren murmured, taking her by the arm and dragging her up the spiral staircase.

"Goodnight," Rose called down to Hera and Katrina, grinning as they shouted back.

"I'm exhausted," Maren sighed as they opened the door to their empty dormitory. Rose dropped onto her four poster bed and closed her eyes.

"Ugh, me too."

"You know, I was thinking about it, and next week when we go to Gryffindor Tower after the match to see your cousin James is going to be unbearable."

"Oh bullocks, I forgot about that," Rose groaned, running a hand over her face. "He's always a nightmare after matches. At least everyone else will be there so we won't have to talk to him as much. It will still be fun."

"Mhm," Maren murmured from the other side of the room, her voice already dropping off. "Lots of fun. Lots of Weasley."

"Lots of exploding snap and butterbeer." Rose giggled to herself as she burrowed under the covers and nestled against her pillow. "G'night Maren."

A faint rustling sounded along with a heavy breath. "Night Ro'."

* * *

Rose sat at in the Great Hall the next morning leafing through _Persuasion,_ a piece of half-eaten toast hanging limply in her hand.

"Good morning," Allie chirped as she and Lucy arrived, slipping into their seats across from Rose and Maren.

"Mornin'," Rose mumbled, flipping the page.

"How was practice last night?" Allie asked as she filled a glass of pumpkin juice. "You were both asleep by the time we got back to the dormitory."

"It was ghastly," Maren shuddered. "Winkle had us out there for nearly three hours in the rain."

"I thought I was going to lose a few fingers," Rose added without looking up.

"That sounds horrid," Allie said.

"It was horrid," Maren replied. "But no matter, we're off tonight. And I, for one, will be in bed as soon as dinner ends."

"No you won't be," Lucy said, peering over her tea. "We're going to Gryffindor common room tonight for exploding snap and butterbeer with Fred and James and their friends."

"That's not until next week." Rose frowned and looked up. "After the match."

"James asked yesterday if we could do it tonight instead," Lucy said evenly, looking away and sipping her tea. "And since you two didn't have practice I didn't see a reason why we shouldn't."

"You still should have asked," Maren said, glancing at Rose. "Or told us."

"You were asleep when we got back," Lucy snapped. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and straightened. "And I'm telling you now."

"Right," Rose said, pushing the rest of her toast aside and flipping her book closed. "Thanks for that, Luce." She got to her feet and picked up her bag. "I'm going to class a bit early to practice that new spell Lyncroft taught us. I'll see you lot there."

She stalked off, hearing as she went Lucy's voice saying, "Thanks for your help on that spell, by the way, Scorp. You're a lifesaver."

The day dragged on, and Rose's mood soured. At lunch she ate barely half her sandwich before trotting over to the Gryffindor table where Fred sat with Zeno Aylmer.

"Heya, Rosie," he said, moving to the side so she could sit. She squeezed between her cousin and a fourth year and snatched a sandwich off the plate in front of her.

"Why did you change exploding snap and butterbeer to tonight?" she asked without preamble, turning toward him expectantly. "Hi, Zeno," she added quickly, giving him a wave which he returned.

Fred shrugged. "James thought we might all not want to see each other that much after the match and that it might be a better idea to do this beforehand."

"Oh." Rose paused and took a bite of her sandwich. Fred watched her for a moment, forehead crinkling.

"Is it a problem?"

"No," Rose said quickly, shaking her head. "No, tonight works fine. I just—Lucy just told us this morning."

Fred raised his eyebrows and continued watching her. "Er, yes?"

Rose shrugged. "Nothing, I just didn't know why you changed the day."

"Well, now you know," Fred said slowly, sitting back and downing a glass of pumpkin juice. "Just family politics regarding quidditch."

"I'm sure Lucy was thrilled that was the reason," Rose said dryly.

Fred's expression cleared and he arched an eyebrow as he turned back to face her. "You two haven't made up yet?"

"She barely talks to me."

"Oh." Fred patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "I didn't know that. Is it—er—"

"It's fine," Rose shrugged again and forced a smile. "She'll come around eventually."

"Exactly," Fred nodded. "Tonight will probably be good for her, too. James was saying how down she's been and that he reckons she could use a few laughs."

Rose made a noncommittal noise.

"And you could probably use some too." Fred nudged her shoulder.

Rose snorted. "Thanks. You know, moving this back probably wasn't the worst idea. James probably won't talk to me after Ravenclaw wins the match on Saturday."

"Oh really?" Fred shook his head. "Let me know when your seeker gets recruited by the Falcons."

"The Falcons are recruiting Cutler?" Rose asked, her head shooting up as she searched for the Gryffindor seeker. "That's unbelievable!"

"It's really not when you consider her record," Fred began.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Rose said, waving a hand. "That's amazing, is all. Does she want to play after school?"

"I dunno," Fred shrugged. "I think she's planning on working with the Department of Magical Games and Sports as an international liaison, but she could always put that off for a few years."

"I hope she plays for the Falcons," Rose said. "Those matches would be so fun to watch."

"It would be interesting to see her go against some of the other seekers in the league," Fred replied. "Imagine her against Tamara Wittlief."

Rose simply shook her head. "That match would be over in a second."

"Maybe less than," Fred chuckled. Rose shook her head again and looked around the Great Hall, which was beginning to empty.

"I'd best be going," she said, rising from the bench. "I don't want to be late for potions."

"Ah," Fred sighed, leaning back, "I remember those dark days before free periods."

"Whatever," Rose rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "I'll see you tonight. Remind James to take out that one card from the snap deck that shoots sparks."

"Oh, shite, I nearly forgot about that," Fred said, snapping up. "I'll find him. See you later, Rosie."

"Bye, Freddie."

* * *

"We're going to be late," Lucy tapped her foot as she looked down at her watch. "Where is he?"

"He'll be along soon," Rose repeated, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes as she leaned her head beside the eagle knocker. She stood outside the Ravenclaw common room with Lucy, Allie and Maren, exploding snap deck in hand, waiting for Albus to meet them.

"If he doesn't hurry up we're going to be late—"

"Merlin, Lucy, nobody gives a damn if we're late, it's Fred and James," Rose snapped.

Lucy checked her watch again and tilted her nose in the air. "You know some people—"

"Oh look, here comes Al," said Allie a bit too loudly, stepping in front of the two girls and waving at a distant figure down the corridor. Rose huffed and stepped towards Maren as Lucy crossed her arms.

"Sorry I'm late," Albus panted as he approached. "I ran into Peeves on the fourth floor and had to run through the entire transfiguration corridor to lose him."

"Don't worry about it," Rose said as they began walking toward Gryffindor Tower. "We weren't waiting that long."

"And it just gave Allie time to redo her eyeliner three times," Maren laughed.

"Hey," Allie frowned, bringing a hand up toward her sharply drawn sparkling blue eyeliner. "It didn't take me that long. You spent nearly as long deciding on a football t-shirt to wear."

"I told you, whichever team you wear makes a difference." Maren glanced down at her Arsenal shirt. "Though I don't think my dad would be happy about me wearing this one."

"It's fine," Rose said. "He doesn't have to know. And anyways, all my cousins will think it's fun. My mum and Uncle Harry showed Aunt Ginny and Aunt Angelina muggle football and they all think it's brilliant."

"It's true," Albus nodded sagely. "Mum said for her birthday this year she wants to go to a football match instead of quidditch."

Maren laughed. "Tell me which one you go to and I'll ask my dad if we can get tickets. He loves an excuse to go."

They made it to Gryffindor Tower without any trouble, though Albus yelped when a suit of armor creaked, convinced that Peeves had managed to find him again. The portrait of the Fat Lady loomed into view, with James standing outside, wide mouth twisted into a grin and ruddy hair dancing in the candlelight.

"Glad you made it," he said as they approached. "Who was that screaming a minute ago? It sounded like a trapped merperson."

"It was me," Rose said quickly, glancing at Albus out of the corner of her eye and doing her best to look embarrassed. "A suit of armor frightened me."

James snorted and shook his head. "I must say, I thought you were tougher than that, Rosie."

"Don't be a wanker." Rose rolled her eyes and tossed her hair. "I remember how badly you yelled when you thought a gnome had snuck into your room at the Burrow."

"One did sneak in!" James exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I _told_ you, I woke up and one of the little buggers was staring me in the face."

"Sure, James."

"It's not my fault he disappeared before Dad got to my room."

"Maybe you were just dreaming," Rose said, giving him a lofty smile. "You know it can be difficult to be sure sometimes."

"I _was not_ —"

"James, can you just let us in?" Albus asked with a sigh. "I didn't walk all the way up here to listen to you talk about that bloody gnome."

"Fine." James turned to the Fat Lady. "Guinevere."

Rose scrambled through the portrait hole, with Maren at her side and Albus pushing on her back. She emerged in the Gryffindor common room to find a small crowd already assembled.

"You're here!" Fred shouted from a sofa where he sat with Zeno. They both stood and walked toward the Ravenclaws. "Butterbeer's on the table and Roxy is setting up exploding snap by the fireplace."

"Excellent," Rose said as she swiveled her head around. "Hey!" she called out, trotting toward a circle of armchairs where Louis, Lily, and Hugo sat. "I didn't know you lot would be here."

"Fred said we couldn't come but I made James allow it," Lily said with a toss of her hair. "It wasn't fair that all the cousins except us would be having a party."

"For the last time, it's not a party," Roxanne said, coming up behind Rose and glaring at Lily. "So stop calling it that. I don't want to get another dressing down from your mum."

"What did you do to get a first one?" Rose asked.

"She gave me a sign to hold at quidditch trials," Lily shrugged.

Rose raised her eyebrows and looked at Roxanne, who shuffled sheepishly.

"It may have said 'No twats allowed.'"

Rose snorted and heard Maren chuckle beside her. "Really, Roxy?"

"I just thought we should make our expectations explicit from the start." Roxanne flicked her braid and shrugged. "But _somebody_ ", she glared at Lily, "went and told Aunt Ginny all about it and I got two different letters telling me off the next day."

"Was she more upset about the sign or the fact you made Lily hold it?"

"The sign, I think. She went on for a bit about sportsmanlike conduct and how the Gryffindor house team is a school-sanctioned organization that has an image to maintain and she had a half a mind to contact McGonagall."

"Wow," Rose shook her head.

"But, no matter, nothing ended up coming of it and we don't have any twats on the team this year except for James and there's really nothing we can do to get rid of him."

"What are you saying about me, Roxanne?" James shouted across the common room, looking up from the corner where he stood with Lucy and Allie.

"None of your business," Roxanne called back. "Well," she said, turning back to Rose and Maren, "I'm going to fetch a butterbeer and see if I can get Al to tell me anything about Slytherin's team this year."

"Good luck with that," Maren said, making a face. "We can't get him to tell us anything."

"We'll see," was all Roxanne said as she swished off.

"How're you lot doing?" Rose asked the younger cousins when Roxanne had left.

Louis shrugged and brushed a lock of blond hair from his forehead. "Fourth year is alright, though I think I've had more homework this week than I did all of last year."

"Yeah, it starts to pick up quite a bit," Rose nodded. "Have you heard anything from Vic or Dom?"

"Vic writes me every week but there's not much to say. All she does is work and keep her flat with Teddy."

"Are they getting engaged anytime soon?" Rose asked. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I dunno," Louis shrugged. "I haven't asked."

"Merlin, I can't wait for that wedding," Rose said, half to herself.

" _Witch Weekly_ will lose its mind," Maren murmured from beside her. Rose chuckled. "That's why I need them to get married soon. If they wait too long everybody will expect me to have a date and I don't fancy finding an article about how lonely I am in one of those magazines."

"Don't worry, if all else fails I'll be your date."

"Thank you," Rose nodded. "See, this is why I keep you around."

"Sure, Weasley."

"And how about Dom?" Rose asked, turning back to Louis. "I haven't seen much from her since we got back to school."

"Oh, she just sent me a letter." Louis brightened. "Her team in Egypt just excavated the tomb of an old queen and one of the defenses was a spell that turned her partner into a cat! He's still in St. Mungo's and they haven't been able to reverse it yet!"

Rose's eyes widened. "A cat?"

"It's fantastic," Louis said with a broad grin. "Dom told me all about it, she said it's the most interesting thing that's happened there so far."

"Will they be able to turn him back?" Lily asked, her eyebrows knitting together. "Or will he be a cat forever?"

"The healers don't know," Louis replied. "But I'm sure they'll be able to fix it."

"I don't know," Maren said slowly. "Those ancient curses can be difficult to reverse."

"Well," Louis answered, pausing, "I suppose there are worse things than living the rest of your life as a cat."

"You could be forced to live as one of the gnomes in Grandma Molly's gardens," Hugo said evenly.

"Or as the giant squid," Lily added.

"Or as a Chudley Cannons fan," Maren said, laughing as Rose elbowed her in the side.

"It's not a curse to live life as a Chudley Cannons fan, it's a privilege," Rose sniffed.

"A privilege to watch your team lose every match?"

"A privilege to love something through its best and its worst."

"Even when it's always at its worst?"

"They're not _always_ —"

"Rose, you're turning into Uncle Ron," Lily interjected, wrinkling her nose.

Rose clamped her mouth shut and stared in horror at her cousin. "I am _not_ —Hugo—"

"I'm getting a butterbeer," Hugo said quickly, jumping from the sofa and looking at Louis and Lily. "Want to come?"

"I am not turning into my dad," Rose muttered under her breath.

"Let it go, Weasley," Maren said. She took Rose by the elbow and steered her toward the front of the room. "Come on, Zeno's waving us over, let's see what he and Fred are doing."

"How're you two doing?" Zeno asked genially as the girls approached. "Rose, you look like you're ready to fight the giant squid."

"Lily just told me I'm turning into my dad just because I like the Chudley Cannons."

"No, it's because you blindly and obsessively support them even though they're objectively the worst team in the league," Maren said.

Rose glared at her and crossed her arms. "Whatever."

"Well," Zeno said, opening two butterbeers and handing one to each girl. "Lily also said she wants to support Hufflepuff this year because she thinks their new beater McCauley Corcoran is fit, so I wouldn't listen to her."

Rose laughed and took a sip of butterbeer. "You make a good point."

"So forget about Lily," Fred said. "Here, let's play snap. We can have teams of two until Alec gets back from charms club."

"Davies is coming tonight?" Zeno asked.

"Yeah," Fred nodded. "Said he'll be along as soon as the meeting's up."

"Excellent," Zeno said. He turned to Rose, "You two will have plenty to talk about, as two of the best keepers in the school."

Rose flushed and gave a small smile. "I doubt he'll want to talk to me about it," she said quietly. "He's loads better than I am."

"Nah." Zeno shook his head. "He wouldn't shut up about that one save you pulled off last year in your match against Hufflepuff, the one where you hung upside down. Talked my ear off about it for a week straight."

"Really?" Rose sat up a bit straighter and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "But he knows so many more maneuvers than I do—he executed a _perfect_ Mendelsohn dive last year in the match for the cup and there are professional keepers who struggle to do that."

"You two can trade praise and secrets then," Zeno laughed. "I'm surprised Fred hasn't forced you to be friends before this."

"I didn't want to be usurped by my own friend," Fred said solemnly as he took out the exploding snap cards. "I just know Rosie would meet Alec and I would be forgotten." He held his long face for a moment until Rose let out a giggle and then they all burst out laughing. "But no," Fred shook his head, "I've been meaning to introduce you for ages, but whenever you're here he's off doing something and then after the matches it's impossible to get within ten meters of him."

"It doesn't matter," Rose shrugged. "We get enough quidditch talk as it is. And football talk now that Maren's decided she's a fan."

"I didn't _decide_ I'm a fan, I've always been a fan." Maren rolled her eyes and dropped her eyes to her shirt.

"You support like four different teams."

"What's your point?"

"That's too many!"

"Which teams do you support?" Fred asked, looking up at Maren and taking a sip of his drink. "Ever since Aunt Ginny took my mum to a match she's been going mad about muggle football."

"Manchester United is my family's favorite," Maren replied. "Though I do like Arsenal, they're fun to watch, and Chelsea."

Fred nodded. "You should talk to my mum, then, she's decided she's going to all the Manchester United matches this year."

"Ugh, I wish I could too," Maren groaned.

"We'll have you two talk after a quidditch match," Rose said. "You'll love Aunt Angelina."

"Just don't talk to her too much," Fred added. He looked around the group and shrugged. "I don't need my mum telling everybody embarrassing things about me."

"Your mum wouldn't do that," Rose said. "She just talks about your and Roxy's quidditch plays."

"If my dad's there though he'll definitely want to tell the story about when I flew into that tree when I was six."

"Oh, I've already heard that story," Maren said with an airy wave of her hand. "Rose told me ages ago."

"You weren't supposed to _tell_ him that," Rose hissed as Fred scowled at her.

"Sorry," Maren shrugged.

Fred simply shook his head and looked around the room. "Later we'll have to find James and have him tell the story of Vic trying to repair her broom mid-air and accidentally setting it on fire. It's a classic."

"I forgot about that one," Rose gasped, stifling a laugh. "Where is he? Can he tell it now?"

"He's over there with Lucy and Allie and Albus," Maren said, pointing to a corner near the portrait hole. Rose turned and paused as her eyes fell on the scene. James sat next to Lucy, regaling the group with some story, his hands flying animatedly in the air and droplets of butterbeer sailing about. Lucy sat next to him, her face pink as she threw her head back with laughter. Rose bit her lip and turned back around. "They look like they're enjoying themselves, we'll ask later."

"So are we going to start a game or what?" Zeno asked, seizing the exploding snap deck and distributing the cards. "My money's on Rose to be the one whose cards explode first."

They played one round, then another and then another. Rose's cards did explode first, though nobody had taken Zeno's bet and Fred caused a greater commotion moments later by catching his sleeve on fire.

"Hold on, hold on!" James Potter shouted, leaping over Albus and brandishing his wand. "Aguamenti!" A stream of water shot from the tip of his wand and directly into Fred's face.

"You tosser!" Fred cried, shaking his head and holding his sleeve up in the air. "At least aim it properly."

"Here," Zeno said, smacking James in the chest and taking out his own wand. With a mutter and a jab a neat spray of water doused Fred's sleeve and stifled the flames.

"Thanks," Fred grunted, shaking out his smoking sleeve. He shook his head in James's direction. "You're so bloody dramatic, you could've lost me my arm."

"You wouldn't have lost your arm," James scoffed, stowing his wand back in his pocket. "It would have been a burn at best."

"Yes but what would you have done if one of your beaters had a burned arm and couldn't practice?" Fred raised an eyebrow.

"You could still practice," James replied. "We'd just send you to the hospital wing and they'd fix you right up. Remember what we said the other night? Nothing short of a broken bone warrants a missed practice."

Maren let out a whistle and leaned closer to Rose. "You were right. He makes Dom look like a fairy when it comes to quidditch."

"Told you."

"I think we're done with snap for a bit," Fred said, tossing the cards to the side as he sat back down. "Oy, Zeno, since you're up would you find me another butterbeer?"

"Me too!" Rose cried, laughing as Zeno made a face and summoned two bottles from the nearby table.

"You're lucky I like you, Weasley," he muttered as he handed her the drink. Rose stuck her tongue out and took a drink.

"Have you made any plans yet for after school?" Maren asked the two boys.

"Ergh," Zeno made a face. "Please don't talk about that now. I don't want to think about it."

"Do you have any ideas?" Rose asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I'd like to work for the _Prophet_ or some other publication as an investigator but those jobs are so hard to get nowadays," Zeno said. "And all my backup plans are foggy at best now."

"You'll be fine, mate." Fred clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Didn't Lyncroft say that you shouldn't have too hard of a time finding a job in the ministry?"

Zeno wrinkled his nose. "But it's the ministry."

"Still a job," Fred shrugged. "Better than living with your mum after school."

"Are you working at the ministry, then?" Maren asked, turning toward Fred.

"Er." Rose watched as Fred paused and took a drink, a hand going to the back of his neck. "I don't quite know yet, honestly. I'm still figuring out what I want to do."

Maren nodded. "You have time, I was just curious."

"You and everyone else," said Fred with a stilted chuckle.

They fell into a silence broken only by the clink of glass against teeth. Rose sipped her butterbeer and examined her fingernails. A faint thud sounded behind her and she heard rustling of fabric as Zeno straightened.

"Oy, Alec's here!" he said, nudging Fred. "Davies! Over here, mate!"

Rose turned to see the newly arrived Alec Davies and almost dropped her bottle. He strode through the common room with a grace that Rose knew she would never be able to achieve; his bag hung elegantly on one of his broad shoulders in a way that was both precise and careless. Light brown hair dusted his forehead and he swept it back with a casual flick of his fingers, lean muscle peeking through his close-fitting shirt.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, capturing a bottle from the table and dropping down between Fred and Zeno. "Marlow wanted to discuss meeting times and it took ages."

"Don't worry, you didn't miss much," Fred replied.

"Good." Alec's eyes drifted over to Rose and Maren. "So these are your cousins?"

"Just the redhead," Fred gestured toward Rose. "And her friend Maren Thomas."

"The chaser?" Alec raised his eyebrows.

"Yup," Maren nodded. "And you're the Gryffindor keeper."

Alec bowed his head. "That I am." He looked up and shot Rose a grin. "I hope you'll still talk to me even though we're rivals."

"Pff," Rose snorted, giving what she hoped was an airy wave. "I don't let quidditch rivalries get in the way of my friendships. I'd have nobody except Maren to talk to otherwise."

Alec let out a laugh and took a sip of butterbeer. "Can't fault your logic. Half your family plays for other teams."

"And her brother's the new Hufflepuff beater now," Fred added.

"Really?" Alec looked back to Rose. "What's his name again?"

"Hugo," Rose said, puffing her chest out slightly and craning her neck to see Hugo still sitting on the sofa with Lily and Louis. "He's over there. He's a brilliant beater, I've been practicing with him all summer."

"That's good of you," Alec replied. "How old's he?"

"He's a third year," Rose said. "He's quite excited by it."

"Your family's going to take over Hogwarts quidditch if we aren't careful," Alec chuckled.

"We already have a bit," Rose said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "There's a Weasley playing in every match."

"Were your parents excited when your brother made the team?" Zeno asked.

"I think my dad nearly exploded," Rose chuckled. "Though he didn't send Hugh a howler which is absolute bullocks."

"I forgot he sent you one," Fred snorted. "I had a right laugh at breakfast that morning."

"I wanted to die," Rose shook her head, face heating up at the memory. "You remember it, don't you?" she asked, turning to Maren.

"How could I forget?" Maren chortled. She deepened her voice, "Rose Weasley, I am so bloody proud of you!"

They all burst into laughter and the heat radiating from Rose's cheeks dissipated somewhat as Alec Davies caught her eye and smiled.

"That's not that bad," he said ruefully. "When I made the team my dad sent me a howler too, except it wasn't of him talking."

"I forgot about this!" Fred cried, dissolving into laughter as Alec's neck turned pink.

"What was the howler then, if it wasn't your dad?" Rose asked, her eyes brightening.

"It was just a lion roaring nonstop," he said, smiling and taking a drink. "It was my second year and I truly thought I would have to quit the team from sheer embarrassment."

"No," Rose gasped.

"Mhm," Alec nodded. "The best part," he started to laugh, "at our first match everybody in the stands kept trying to _roar_ at me. I think they meant it as a sort of intimidation, but it was too funny for that. I mean, imagine all the Hufflepuffs in the stands _roaring_ at you as you're mounting your broom."

Rose let out a giggle and flicked her hair over her shoulders. "That sounds mad."

"It was." Alec took a sip of butterbeer and let out another soft chuckle. "Though I'm not sure I should be telling you any of this." He looked up at the girls. "You might try to use it against me at our match next week."

"We wouldn't dream of it," Rose said solemnly, placing a hand over her chest. "Your secret is safe with us."

"We like to win our matches based on our flying, not by intimidation," Maren added.

"Oh ho," Alec whistled, leaning back. "That's respectable, I suppose, though you seem rather confident there, Thomas."

Maren shrugged. "We've a good team this year."

"Well so has Gryffindor." Davies's grin broadened and his eyes slid toward Rose as he leaned toward them. "And I'll let you in on another secret. I've been practicing a new maneuver."

"Which one?" Rose breathed, moving forward so her face came within centimeters of Davies's. His lips came together into a smirk and he shrugged.

"You'll simply have to wait and see at the match."

Rose huffed and straightened. "That's not fair."

"It's plenty fair," Fred broke in abruptly, shooting Davies a look. "He's already told you far too much."

Alec put his hands up in surrender. "I didn't give anything away that Winkle could use."

"You were getting close," Fred said. "And James'll skin us both if he thinks we've been blabbing about our plays."

Alec nodded and mimed charming his mouth closed. "Sorry girls," he said with an apologetic look. "No more quidditch secrets from me tonight."

"But that was the only reason we were talking to you," Maren simpered, her mouth twisting into a frown.

"Ah, I knew you were only using me for my insider knowledge," Davies said with an air of forced grievance. "That's disappointing, Thomas. But Rose," he looked to her and widened his eyes, ran a hand through his hair, "you would never use me like that, would you?"

"Hmm." She put a hand to her chin and pretended to contemplate the idea, laughing as Alec's expression grew more and more exaggerated. "I suppose not," she said at last. "I _can_ be friends with other keepers sometimes, you know."

"Really?" Davies asked. "That's rather impressive."

"Well it helps that Nathan's been my friend since first year."

"Ah, you're friends with Nott." Alec hesitated and shared a look with Zeno. "That's—he seems—"

"He's wonderful," Rose said in a clipped voice, frowning.

"Of course," Zeno responded quickly. "I've heard a lot of people say he's a good bloke. He joined Slytherin's team last year, didn't he?"

"Yes." Rose tossed her head. "He's one of the best keepers in the school. We made a bet last year to see who would have the better record at the end of the season and he did very well."

"And who won the bet?" Zeno asked.

Rose colored. "Er, I did," she mumbled. "But it was difficult. Nathan's a wonderful keeper, you see."

"I know he's a good keeper," Davies said. "I watch him at the matches. He's got good instincts and speed that makes up for his lack of agility."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "You keep tabs on everyone?"

"Just the keepers." Davies shrugged. "I like to know what I'm up against."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "So what would you say about me?"

Alec studied her for a moment and then ran a hand through his hair. "You also have excellent instincts when it comes to where people are going to try to score and when you know what's coming you're nearly unstoppable. But when someone surprises you, you don't react quickly enough and that's when you let in most of your goals."

Rose blinked. "Er—alright, then."

"It's not a terrible thing," Davies said. "Every keeper is better when they know what's coming."

"But you're saying there's room for improvement."

"There's always room for improvement," Davies raised an eyebrow. "That's what separates the good players for the great ones. It's who continues to work and improve."

Rose nodded slowly. "So I need to work on my reflexes when someone does something I'm not expecting. Got it."

"If you want to wait until next year to start working on that, though, I wouldn't complain," Davies responded, his smile returning. "You're still a damn good keeper and I'd like to keep Gryffindor's chances of winning the cup as high as possible."

Rose laughed. "No promises."

Davies emptied his butterbeer. "You said you and Nott had a bet last year over who would have the best record?"

"Mhm," Rose nodded. "And we have it again this year."

"Would you like to make another one?"

Rose peered at him. He looked earnest, with his face relaxed and his shoulders leaning slightly forward.

"Is Rose Weasley actually unsure of herself?" Maren whispered, nudging her in the shoulder.

"No," Rose hissed, straightening and flipping her hair over her shoulder. "What are the conditions?" she asked Davies.

"Five galleons?"

Rose hesitated for a moment and bit her lip before dropping her shoulders. "Deal."

"Excellent," Davies said as they shook hands. "I look forward to trying to beat you."

"I look forward to it as well."

"Well, now that that's settled," Fred said, popping the top off another butterbeer, "I've been meaning to ask about your new seeker Plumaj. How's she?"

"Oh, she's wonderful," Maren cried, shifting in her seat. "I've never seen a player like her before."

"It's a bit odd she hasn't tried out before this year," Fred mused. "And a bit odd she tried out for seeker. She doesn't really have the build for it."

"You wouldn't know it from watching her fly," Maren said. "She has to be one of the most naturally gifted flyers in the school."

"That's saying something considering some of the players we have walking around here," Zeno remarked.

Maren shrugged. "She said she has family on the Albanian national team, too."

"Who's this now?"

Rose looked behind her to find James walking toward them, with Lucy, Allie, Albus and Roxanne following like a line of ducklings.

"Should I be recruiting someone for next year's team?" James asked as he squeezed between Maren and Zeno.

"Oy, budge over," Albus said, nudging his way between Rose and Fred.

"You miss me?" Rose asked.

"You're closest to the portrait hole," Albus replied, jerking his head back toward the entrance.

Rose paused and nodded. "Good thinking."

"It's a seventh year Ravenclaw," Fred said to James over the commotion of everybody scrambling for a seat. "The new seeker Plumaj."

"Ah," James nodded. "Yeah, her family's big in the quidditch world in eastern Europe. I don't think she's been at Hogwarts that long, this is her second or third year."

"That explains why she hasn't tried out before now," Rose murmured.

"Well she's bloody brilliant," Maren said. "I reckon she could take over Wood's job if she wanted to."

"We'll see how she does this year," James said. "Though I suppose after that wanker Herrick any new seeker seems brilliant."

Rose's face burned and she looked down at her lap as Maren shifted beside her. A few feet away, Fred cleared his throat.

"Ah, shite, Rosie, I'm sorry," James burst out.

"It's fine," Rose mumbled, glancing up to give James a small smile. "Everybody knows he's a sack of dung."

"Those rumors weren't true, then?" Zeno asked, peering at Rose.

"Of course they weren't true," Fred snapped, scowling at his friend. "I already told you that."

"Okay, sorry, I just wanted to ask Rose herself."

"Can we talk about something else?" Rose asked feebly, her face still burning as she tried to look anywhere but in Alec Davies's direction.

James looked further down the circle and said, "Hey, Luce, look at this!" and pointed his wand at his face. There was a faint pop and a puff of smoke which cleared to reveal James, his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes all replaced with feathers. Lucy giggled as James shook his head and batted his new eyelashes.

"Oh, make them different colors like you did earlier," Allie trilled, laughing as James complied. The feathers turned different neon hues, making James's head look like the odd lamp Rose's Grandpa Granger kept in his office.

"Oy, Fred," James barked, "I nearly forgot, how did studying with Amalia go?"

"Oh, who's Amalia?" Lucy asked, leaning forward, oblivious to the looks Maren and Allie both sent toward Rose, whose face grew warm again.

Fred gave a noncommittal shrug. "A girl I've been studying with."

Zeno snorted. "Studying with, spending every night in the common room with, snogging in broom cupboards."

"Shut it," Fred muttered, elbowing Zeno in the side. He looked up and caught Rose's eye. "I'm surprised Rose didn't tell you about it, really."

Lucy looked at Rose and frowned. "Why did Rose know about it?"

Fred laughed, his cheeks growing slightly darker as he took a sip of butterbeer. "She was being a good prefect and patrolling and _may_ have come across me and my friend behind a tapestry."

Zeno, Alec, and James all sniggered, having obviously heard the story beforehand. Albus and Roxanne turned to stare at Rose.

"You caught him snogging a girl while you were on patrol?" Roxanne asked, her face wrinkling. "Urgh, poor Rosie."

Rose snorted. "It was rather horrid."

"I think we both wished we were somewhere else," Fred said. He turned to the group and shook his head. "There I was, tucked safely behind a tapestry on the fourth floor when some incredibly rude prefect rips it away and I turn around and it's my little cousin Rosie staring at me like I'd just kicked a kneazle."

"You weren't even _trying_ to be discreet," Rose threw her hands up in exasperation. "Thank Merlin Scorpius was there otherwise I would've had to be the one to dock points from you."

"Oh, yeah, neither Rosie or I really said anything, it was a bit uncomfortable, you see."

"It was bloody awful," Rose interjected.

"Yes, that," Fred laughed. "So the Malfoy bloke steps up from behind her and gives me and Lia a bit of a telling off about engaging in 'non-academic activities' in the corridor past curfew and docks us points before sending us on our way."

James snorted and raised an eyebrow in Rose's direction. "How is it, patrolling with Malfoy, by the way?"

Rose shrugged, feeling Albus tense beside her. "It's fine. He's not that bad."

"Really?" Fred furrowed his brow. "You're getting along better now?"

"I dunno," Rose brushed a piece of hair from her face. "We don't talk much, but he's fine."

"You used to really hate him," Fred chuckled.

"Really?" Alec Davies broke in, giving Rose an appraising look. "I can't picture you hating anyone."

"I didn't _hate_ him." Rose crossed her arms and leaned back, glancing at Albus. "We've just never been particularly good friends."

"She was angry he beat her at potions," Lucy said airily.

Rose opened her mouth to reply but then closed it, frowning at Lucy.

"And you two are fine now," Allie chirped. "You just stay out of each other's way."

"Exactly." Rose nodded. "We patrol and after that we're just housemates."

"Well that's good, I suppose," Fred shrugged. "You're never going to be best friends but if you just keep out of each other's way you can be cordial."

"Which works just as well for me," Rose said, looking to Maren. "The friends I have are enough trouble as it is."

"Well, now that we're all here, shall we have a snap tournament?" James asked, seizing the cards and shuffling them vigorously, ignoring the shower of sparks that rained onto the floor.

"Potter, if you burn down the common room Lyncroft will murder us all," Zeno muttered.

"It won't burn down," James said as he took out his wand and tapped the cards. "If my box of fireworks last year didn't do it I doubt a pack of cards will. Now, how many people have we? Here, everybody pair up, I don't think we have enough cards for everyone to play otherwise."

"This is mad," Maren whispered to Rose as James divided up the cards.

"I agree." Zeno sighed and gave Maren a look of commiseration. "There's too many Weasleys here for this to go well."

"You say that as if we're all a bunch of yahoos," Rose snorted.

Zeno put his hands up. "You said it, not me."

Rose laughed and threw a card at him, which promptly burst into flames. "I told you the common room would burn down!" Zeno yelled as everybody jumped up to try to put the fire out.

By the time the excitement died down and four different people had doused Zeno with water, it was nearly eleven o'clock and Albus announced he had to go back to his dormitory to finish homework and go to bed.

"We should go too, then," Allie said, looking around at the Ravenclaw girls. "Rose is enough of a nightmare in the morning as it is. She shouldn't be out too late."

Rose sniffed. "I'm perfectly pleasant in the morning."

"Let's keep it that way, then," Allie said dryly.

After many goodbyes, last minute jabs, and James charming his face two more times, the four girls tumbled out of the portrait hole and into the corridor.

"That was wonderful," Rose breathed as she skipped down the hallway. "We should do that more often."

"You just liked talking to Alec Davies," Maren laughed, linking her arm through Rose's. "He's quite fit."

"Ooh, Rose," Allie cooed, waggling her eyebrows, "I saw you talking to him for a long time there."

Rose flushed and gave her best approximation of a nonchalant shrug. "We were just talking about quidditch."

"And he definitely said he thinks you're one of the best keepers in the school," Maren said. " _And_ he made that bet with you over your record."

"Yes, well," Rose said, biting her lip, "I dunno. He's probably got lots of girls to talk to."

"But he's so _fit_ ," Maren replied. "And tall, and a wonderful quidditch player, and he's in the charms club so you know he's smart."

"He sounds perfect," Allie breathed.

Rose allowed herself a small smile before shaking her head. "No, I said no boys this year!"

"I don't remember you saying that," Allie frowned.

"I'm saying it now." Rose tossed her head. "Unless Mr. Darcy comes to Hogwarts, I don't want to talk to another boy that I'm not related to this entire year."

"What about Nathan?" Allie asked.

"Doesn't count, he's dating Lucy."

"That's right," Lucy said crisply.

"And Zeno?"

"He's Fred's friend. I'll talk to boys I'm friends with. Just not— _talk—_ y'know."

"Okay," Maren said slowly. "Nothing less than Mr. Darcy, we'll remember that."

"Or Peter Pevensie," Rose added. "I'll make an exception for him as well."

Maren snorted. "You're mad."

Ravenclaw Tower welcomed them home with its familiar midnight blue carpet and open space and Rose breathed in deeply. "I love going to other common rooms and seeing my cousins, but I do love coming back here at the end."

"It's a good place to come home to," Allie said, twisting a ringlet around her finger and letting it spring back.

They climbed the spiral staircase silently, and fell into bed nearly as soon as they reached the dormitory. Rose looked up from her pillow to see her friends sprawled on their mattresses. Maren lay flat on her back with her arms and legs splayed like a starfish, dark hair covering the pillow. Allie lay on her side with her knees drawn toward her chest and her golden curls circling her face like a halo. Lucy, Rose saw, was curled on her side, arms and legs tucked close, and a small smile lingering on her face. Her eyes were open and they roved around the room, taking in everything and seeing nothing. Rose looked back to her own pillow before rolling over and taking the book from her bedside table. She lit her wand and flipped the book open to the end without bothering to check the title. In her dormitory, wrapped in soft sheets with the soft humming of her friends' breath around her, she read the end of _Persuasion_ and imagined she was Anne Elliot, listening rapturously as a handsome naval captain with light brown hair, broad shoulders, and good reflexes on a broom announced his enduring love for her. She couldn't help the small smile that crept across her face, and the pictures of Alec Davies smiling at her that flooded her mind. It had been a good night, she thought, as she extinguished her wand and let the wind's soft lullaby and Jane Austen's words carry her to sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading! Sorry for the long wait, I'm abroad for the semester and don't have much time to write.

Reviews are better than a sunny Spanish morning and Swiss chocolate!


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